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Georgia jails three opposition politicians, including bank founder
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 23, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 23, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Three Georgian opposition politicians, including TBC Bank's founder, were jailed amid rising political tensions and EU relations concerns.
By Lucy Papachristou
(Reuters) -Three Georgian opposition politicians were sentenced to months in prison on Monday, the first to be convicted in a series of prosecutions targeting government critics who refused to give evidence to lawmakers.
Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, leading figures in the opposition Lelo for Georgia party, were both sentenced to eight months, while Zurab Japaridze of the Coalition for Change bloc received seven months.
Khazaradze is a co-founder of London-listed TBC Bank, one of Georgia's largest.
Authorities have launched a string of cases against people accused of refusing to testify to a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoing under jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, who led the South Caucasus country from 2004 to 2012. Four other people are also being prosecuted.
Georgian authorities have moved to clamp down on leading figures of the pro-European Union opposition as street protests continue over a disputed October election and a subsequent government decision to halt talks on joining the EU.
Khazaradze and both Japaridzes, who are not related, were also banned from holding public office for two years, the Interpress news agency reported.
Their parties rejected last year's election result and accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of rigging the poll in order to win a fourth term. The government denies that allegation, but two U.S. pollsters said there was evidence of manipulation.
In a post on X, Khazaradze rejected the court's ruling, saying the parliamentary commission "has no real function" and pointing out he did not hold public office during the period the body is investigating.
Spokespeople for the parties of the jailed politicians did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Traditionally one of the most pro-Western countries to emerge from the Soviet Union, Georgia has taken a sharply authoritarian turn in recent years, critics say. Georgian Dream has passed a slew of laws clamping down on foreign-funded organisations operating in the country, and on LGBT people.
Georgian Dream says it still wants to join the EU but also wants to preserve the country's traditional values and keep peace with its huge northern neighbour, Russia.
(Reporting by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze from the Lelo for Georgia party, along with Zurab Japaridze from the Coalition for Change bloc, were sentenced.
Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze received eight-month sentences, while Zurab Japaridze was sentenced to six months in prison.
Mamuka Khazaradze is a co-founder of TBC Bank, one of Georgia's largest banks.
The opposition has accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of rigging the October election to secure a fourth term, which the government denies.
Khazaradze rejected the court's ruling, stating that the parliamentary commission involved has no real function.
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