Khabeishvili Requests to Attend Constitutional Court Hearing on Party Ban

Levan Khabeishvili, chairman of the Political Council of the National Movement who is in pre-trial detention, requests to attend the Constitutional Court hearing on the ban of opposition parties.

Khabeishvili writes: "I categorically demand that my security escort be provided in Batumi and that I be given the opportunity, as the acting chairman of the Political Council of the NM, to publicly express my position". In his words, the process is "actually trying our homeland – Georgia".

Khabeishvili hopes that protest rallies will be held in Batumi in parallel with the Constitutional Court proceedings. He also supports the rally announced for October 25.

The Constitutional Court plenum accepted for consideration the constitutional claim of Georgian Dream on banning opposition political parties. Under the law, the court has 9 months to make a decision, but hearings have been scheduled for October 21, 22 and 23.

In the lawsuit, Georgian Dream seeks the ban of almost all major opposition parties. These include "Unity – National Movement", "Coalition for Change – Gvaramia, Melia, Girchi – More Freedom", "Strong Georgia – Lelo for Georgia, for Freedom!", "Federalist Party" and "Gakharia for Georgia".

Lawyer Sandro Baramidze of Transparency International Georgia says that if the opposition does not attend the sessions, this will put in doubt the possibility of appealing the Constitutional Court's decision in Strasbourg.

Baramidze explains: "The principle of subsidiarity and exhaustion of domestic legal remedies, which the Strasbourg court strictly follows, implies that you must clearly voice in domestic courts every position you later defend in Strasbourg. If you do not attend, you will not be able to put forward your position and, consequently, you will expose yourself to a great risk that the Strasbourg court will declare your application inadmissible".