I welcome the release of any political prisoner; Mamuka and Badri were also political prisoners, imprisoned on completely incomprehensible and absurd charges, – said Petre Tsiskarishvili, Secretary General of the United National Movement, in response to the pardon of “Lelo – Strong Georgia” leaders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze.
As he noted, the statements of “Georgian Dream” regarding holding elections in a competitive environment at any level would only be credible if politicians were not in prison.
“I welcome the release of any political prisoner; we are, of course, very happy about this on a human level. Naturally, Mamuka and Badri were political prisoners, locked up on completely incomprehensible and absurd charges. The statement from ‘Dream,’ where they imply that elections should supposedly be held in a competitive environment – first of all, these are not real elections at all. Such a statement would only be convincing if, at this time last year, before the parliamentary elections, they had pardoned Mikheil Saakashvili, who would have had the opportunity to be fully involved in the parliamentary election process. Only then would I truly believe that their political will, approach, and intention is for the electoral process – elections held at any level – to take place in a competitive environment, and that no political movement leader or figure would be locked up in a prison cell,” – said Petre Tsiskarishvili.
Petre Tsiskarishvili: I welcome the release of any political prisoner – Mamuka and Badri were also political prisoners, imprisoned on completely incomprehensible and absurd charges
