Georgian State Security Service arrests opposition member of Tbilisi City Assembly over election disruption calls

The Georgian State Security Service on Wednesday announced that it has arrested Zviad Kuprava, a member of the National Movement party and a sitting deputy of the Tbilisi City Assembly. Kuprava’s arrest is linked to a video statement he posted in connection with attempts to disrupt the upcoming local elections scheduled for Saturday.

Investigation materials show that on Tuesday, Kuprava posted a video on social media calling on citizens to disrupt the October 4 elections and to overthrow the Government.

“In order to conceal the criminal nature of his call and evade legal responsibility, he referred to the elections as a Russian special operation, described polling stations as special operation points, and labeled the Government as ‘Ivanishvili’. Such statements do not preclude the criminality of his actions under the Criminal Code of Georgia”, the Service said.

“Kuprava also resisted arrest when detained by our officers. Accordingly, Kuprava is accused of actions under Articles 317 and 353 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which relate to publicly calling for the overthrow of state power and resisting a government official in the exercise of their duties. It is notable that in his video statement, he also explicitly stated his motive - issuing an ultimatum to the Government to release Mikheil Saakashvili and other defendants he described as political prisoners. It is also worth noting that, in addition to calling for the overthrow of state power, the accused announced the commission of another crime under Article 162 of the Criminal Code, which concerns obstructing the expression of the will of voters through violence or threats of violence”, the State Security Service noted.

In his September 30 video, Zviad Kuprava said: “Our tactical goal is to disrupt the Russian special operation on October 4. From the morning, both in groups and individually, we will begin movement across the city and break through at least one special operation point of 500”.