A large group of opposition parties, both parliamentary and non-parliamentary, made a joint appeal to the international organizations and foreign diplomats on April 12 to closely watch court proceedings into cases of persons arrested for, as the opposition says, political reasons.

The joint appeal made on April 12 in particular focuses on the case of brother and a son of Eka Beselia, a former member of ex-defense minister Irakli Okruashvili's party, Movement for United Georgia. Her brother Sergo Beselia and son Rati Milorava were arrested last August and in December Batumi City Court sentenced them to 2.5-year and 1.5-year prison term, respectively, for hooliganism and disobedience to the police orders. Eka Beselia claims that her brother and son were arrested and convicted because of her political activities. She quit Okruashvili's party in February to establish a public movement with a goal "to struggle for illegally arrested persons' rights and independent judiciary system." Beselia claims there are 56 people arrested for "political motives" under the pretext of various criminal charges. 

The Court of Appeals in Kutaisi plans to hear the case of Beselia and Milorava on April 16. The political parties, which signed the joint appeal, said that they plan to hold a protest rally outside the parliament at 3pm local time on April 15.

"There are issues on which we should be united" Nino Burjanadze, leader of Democratic Movement-United Georgia, said during the signing of the appeal.

"I am glad that this issue united us all," said Koba Davitashvili, leader of Party of People, part of National Council, which also includes ex-PM Zurab Nogaideli's party and the Conservative Party.

The appeal, among others, was also signed by Alliance for Georgia; Christian-Democratic Movement; Labor Party; National Forum; Industrialist Party and Levan Gachechiladze's public movement Defend Georgia.