Mišeli Jajanije
Tamara - After nearly two years, former Free Voice Journalists Irakli Duvani and Mâ Šenišvi, who were jailed following a controversial trial and charged under the Agausian State Security Act, have accepted an absolute pardon from Agausian President Simon Aiovikara. The two are set to be released Wednesday morning, according to their lawyer Levan Bakraje.
Duvani and Šenišvi had both worked for Free Voice Agausia for several years and had been well known in the community for reporting on corruption and misappropriated government spending. were sentenced in December 2024 to three years in prison for “disseminating state secrets” after their 2023 report on irregularities in military equipment purchases. Their appeal was still ongoing. An absolute pardon is unconditional and forgives the offense in full.
The president’s office has not said why the pardon was granted now. Parliamentary elections are next month, and the governing Social Democrats, along with most of their coalition partners, are polling behind the center right opposition, though Aiovikara himself is more popular than his party.
Back in 2024, the sentencing led to weeks of protests in Tavšesapari and Tamara. Reporters Without Borders and the U.S. Embassy in Tamara both condemned the ruling. Agausian Prime Minister Âkob Belani and members of the government aired on the side of caution saying at the time that press freedom had to be balanced with the nation’s security interests.
Duvani’s and Šenišvi’s attorney Levan Bakraje, who is running for president as an independent in 2027, said the president “could have done this any day in the last two years.” Bakraje has built his campaign on reforming the courts and protecting press freedom, and said the case shows why judges need to be independent of the government.
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