TBILISI, December 11 – The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) on Wednesday denounced the actions of one of Georgia’s best-known opposition figures, who is currently in pre-trial detention and faces up to 15 years in prison.
In a December 10 post on X, the European liberal umbrella group said it does not condone the actions of Aleko Elisashvili, a former independent MP who recently aligned with the opposition party Lelo, an ALDE member.
The statement came after Georgian parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili publicly urged ALDE to distance itself from Elisashvili, who was arrested on terrorism charges.
According to investigators, Elisashvili broke into a Tbilisi courthouse carrying a firearm with ammunition, and a hammer, entered a restricted area, poured flammable liquid on equipment and documents, and attempted to start a fire. He rejects the terrorism label and disputes the authorities’ description of the incident, but does not deny staging a protest inside the building.
In its post on Wednesday, ALDE added that it would also never condone violence against peaceful protesters or the use of chemical weapons on citizens. The latter referred to a BBC allegation that a World War I era chemical agent, Camit, had been mixed into water cannon jets used against protesters last year.
Georgia’s prime minister has threatened legal action against the BBC. An internal investigation concluded that regular tear gas was used, not a banned substance.
