• Multiple opposition leaders sentenced as Georgia's government intensifies crackdown.
• Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze jailed for ignoring investigations into ex-president.
• Protests continue as accusations of authoritarianism rise against ruling Georgian Dream party.
• Giorgi Vashadze also sentenced, representing a significant suppression of pro-European political figures.

A Georgian court recently sentenced multiple opposition leaders, including Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, to eight months in prison, further escalating a crackdown on dissent in the country. Critics argue that this crackdown stems from political turmoil following the disputed parliamentary elections won by the ruling Georgian Dream party last October, leading to mass protests and claims of authoritarianism. The ruling party is accused of steering Georgia closer to Moscow, allegations it denies, according to IndiaTimes, Le Monde, and Al Jazeera.

Three prominent opposition figures, including Khazaradze and Japaridze, were convicted of refusing to testify before a parliamentary commission investigating alleged abuses under former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who himself is serving a lengthy prison sentence viewed by many as politically motivated. Khazaradze, who boycotted the trial, denounced the proceedings as a "political witch hunt," aligning with sentiments expressed by former president Salome Zurabishvili, who described the situation as "terror in Georgia," according to IndiaTimes and Le Monde.

Moreover, Giorgi Vashadze, another opposition leader from the Strategy Builder party, was sentenced to seven months in prison, signaling that the Georgian Dream's repression has led to nearly all major pro-European opposition figures being imprisoned. This crackdown has sparked continuous protests, especially after the government suspended talks regarding EU membership, further intensifying dissent against the ruling party's narrative of democratic governance, according to Al Jazeera.