EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell responds on the arrest of former Mayor

EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell responds on the arrest of one of the leaders of European Georgia Gigi Ugulava. According to him, the EU has some questions about the verdict.

“We have been following the case of opposition leader Gigi Ugulava for some time. I had the opportunity yesterday to assess the situation following the verdict together with my EU colleagues. And I want to say that we all share a number of questions with regard to circumstances around the verdict. We also agree that this event is not conducive to the atmosphere needed to move forward on the political dialogue, which, as we know, is a key component and a vehicle that could breach political polarization in the country.

I expect that there will be an official statement coming from Brussels in the coming few hours.

There have been some statements made by different politicians in Brussels and in some capitals, and I expect that there will be an official statement coming from Brussels in the coming few hours”, - concluded the Ambassador.

The special statement of EU on the case of Gigi Ugulava

The comment of EU Ambassador to Georgia was followed by the statement of EU.

Peter Stano, EU Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said that “the circumstances around this verdict are not conducive to advancing the political dialogue aimed at a much needed depolarisation of the political situation in Georgia”.

“The European Union is currently scrutinising closely the recent ruling by the Georgian Supreme Court in the case against opposition leader Gigi Ugulava.

The circumstances around this verdict are not conducive to advancing the political dialogue aimed at a much needed depolarisation of the political situation in Georgia.

Upholding the highest standards of judicial independence, fair trial and the rule of law is an essential commitment of Georgia under the EU-Georgia Association Agreement.

The EU will also continue to monitor all other trials in Georgia related to high profile cases”, - reads the statement.