The Orenburg Regional Court has begun hearing the state prosecution's appeal in the 6-million-ruble bribe case involving former senator Rauf Arashukov. The prosecution is seeking to increase the fine for the former official, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, from 120 million to 420 million rubles.
The seven-month prison sentence of Georgian opposition figure and leader of the "Girchi — More Freedom" party, Zurab Japaridze, expires on December 19. On Friday, the politician will leave Rustavi Penitentiary Institution No. 12, according to information on his Facebook page.
As a reminder, one of the leaders of the "Coalition for Change" was arrested in court on May 22, 2025. He was charged with failing to comply with a legal request of the temporary investigative commission of the Parliament of Georgia (Article 349 of the Criminal Code). Japaridze failed to appear to testify at the request of the commission. On June 23, the court sentenced him to seven months in prison.
On July 9, the European Parliament adopted another resolution on Georgia, condemning the persecution of opposition figures, including Zurab Girchi Japaridze.