Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday criticized unspecified European Union representatives for their stance against potential legal actions targeting the United National Movement opposition, a former ruling force, for their alleged crimes during the Russia-Georgia 2008 war.
Papuashvili described the criticism as “undemocratic” and “contradictory to the principles of a legal state and democracy,” dismissing claims the Georgian Dream Government intended to ban all opposition parties if they secured constitutional majority in the October 26 general elections as “disinformation”.
Papuashvili highlighted the European Court of Human Rights ruling in the case of “Ochigava v Georgia,” which found that systemic violence and torture were pervasive in Georgian penitentiary facilities during the UNM’s rule.
He argued that continued support for the UNM, “the party responsible for establishing this regime”, undermined the severity of the crimes and showed disrespect for the victims of former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration.
The Speaker also expressed concern over what he described as the EU’s “indifferent attitude” towards Saakashvili, who, “despite being convicted of serious crimes [in Georgia], was able to move freely within the EU and hold meetings with various EU institutions” [before his arrest in Tbilisi in 2021].
Papuashvili noted that efforts to free Saakashvili from legal consequences persisted, with some EU representatives allegedly trying to interfere under different pretexts.
Papuashvili also criticized the EU’s treatment of other convicted former Georgian officials, such as Zurab Adeishvili, the former Prosecutor General currently in Ukraine, and Davit Kezerashvili, the former Defence Minister living in Europe, who he claimed continued to find refuge in the EU despite their convictions for crimes including torture and embezzlement.
Emphasizing the importance of respecting Georgia’s legal proceedings, Papuashvili pointed out the ECHR had repeatedly affirmed the high standards of the Georgian judiciary. He also drew parallels with EU member states, noting that in Germany, the court-approved surveillance of the far-right party “Alternative for Germany” by German security services demonstrated the EU itself used various legal instruments against political parties.
Papuashvili concluded by listing the criminal cases for which former high-ranking UNM officials, including Saakashvili, Adeishvili, and Kezerashvili, had been convicted, adding their sentences had been halved due to amnesty.
