(Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Opposition figure and TV director Nika Gvaramia was detained in Tbilisi today, sparking an outcry among supporters.

The arrest followed shortly after a court session, where it was decided to revoke Gvaramia’s bail and converting it into imprisonment.

The judge justified this as a response to his alleged violation of bail conditions. Prosecutors argued that Gvaramia had engaged in actions that could interfere with ongoing proceedings, citing concerns over the defendant’s public statements and political activity.

Speaking to journalists as he was led away, Gvaramia said he had not been informed of the court’s ruling and was arrested directly outside the courtroom. “I told the police I was here, and I suppose they will now decide which prison to send me to,” he said.

Gvaramia was previously imprisoned in 2022 in a controversial case, that led to condemnation by the U.S. State Department and Amnesty International.

He was pardoned in June, 2023, by then President Salome Zurabishvili. The current court hearings are unrelated, and stem instead from Gvaramia’s refusal to appear before a parliamentary commission to investigate crimes under the United National Movement government (2004-2012).

Rustavi 2, the television station Gvaramia led for years, has been associated with the legacy of the 2003 Rose Revolution. After playing a key role during opposition rallies ahead of the revolution, it aligned itself with the Saakashvili government during his presidency, then turned critical again after 2012, and ultimately reverted to a pro-government stance following a controversial court ruling over ownership. After the shake-up, Gvaramia and much of his team left to found Mtavari Arkhi, which now occupies the same combative, anti-government space Rustavi 2 once did, delivering some of the sharpest critical coverage at protests and in nightly broadcasts.

Gvaramia’s renewed detention today takes place alongside several other controversial actions by authorities, such as issuing a fine to ex-President Zourabichvili for participating at a protest, and the court hearings of a number of well-known journalists and politicians for anti-government “hate speech” in social media.

Members of the opposition denounced the latest move as another act in what they call a theater of absurdity under Georgian Dream rule, while city mayor Kakha Kaladze defended the action as “within the bounds of the law”.