The President of Georgia has pardoned two leaders of the opposition, former Mayor of Tbilisi Gigi Ugulava and former Minister of Defense Irakli Okruashvili.

As Salome Zourabichvili said during the briefing, she does not pardon political prisoners as they don’t exist in Georgia.

“I have decided to issue the Pardon Act to Ugulava and Okruashvili. Before their pardon comes into force, I would like to address the public, for whom my decision today will not be easy to understand and they may not even forgive me. I need to clarify the essence of forgiveness for everyone. I will not pardon political prisoners, as there are no political prisoners in Georgia today”, - said the President.

As Zourabichvili said, the above decision “does not mean the release of political prisoners, but it aims to fully restore the democratic image of the country and get rid of the past”.