Royal Opera House calls for release of Georgian bass singer jailed over democracy protests

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The Royal Opera House has publicly called for intervention from UK Labour leader Keir Starmer regarding the case of Georgian bass singer Paata Burchuladze, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for participating in anti-regime demonstrations. His incarceration comes amid heightened oppression by the Georgian government against dissent.

Casting director urges Keir Starmer to intervene in case of Paata Burchuladze, 71, jailed for seven years after singing at anti-regime demonstrations The Royal Opera House in London has urged Keir Starmer to intervene in the case of Paata Burchuladze, a world-renowned bass singer who has been imprisoned in Georgia since October on a charge of leading a coup against the country’s authoritarian leader. The 71-year-old has performed at the Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and collaborated with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. He was arrested after joining a protest outside the presidential palace in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Last week he was given a seven-year jail sentence which Burchuladze suggested to the court was equivalent to a life sentence given his age. Continue reading...