Georgia’s Parliament Speaker, Shalva Papuashvili, on Tuesday accused Giorgi Gakharia, a former prime minister and current chair of the opposition For Georgia party, of “repeatedly lying” during his testimony to lawmakers on Monday, and claimed that foreign influence had played a role in the controversial 2021 arrest of opposition leader Nika Melia.
In a statement posted on social media, Papuashvili said Gakharia, who resigned as prime minister in 2021 following controversies with the ruling Georgian Dream party over the arrest of then chair of the United National Movement opposition Melia, had “got entangled in his own lies on many issues,” but focused particular attention on what he described as the former PM’s “confusion” over possible foreign involvement in Melia’s detention.
“After avoiding the question several times, he could not remember whether he had met with any ambassador; then he remembered that he had met, but could not remember on what issue; then he remembered it was about Melia – but claimed someone else told him about it,” Papuashvili wrote.
Calling the testimony “a pitiful sight,” Papuashvili accused Gakharia of misleading Parliament and implied that the former US ambassador to Georgia (allegedly Kelly Degnan) had exerted undue influence over Georgian internal affairs. He pointed to the timing of events on February 18, 2021, when, minutes after a public statement by the US ambassador urging restraint, Gakharia announced his resignation as prime minister.
“27 minutes after this statement… Gakharia announced his resignation,” Papuashvili said, alleging this was part of a coordinated effort involving foreign actors.
He further claimed that Gakharia’s later political movement – including the formation of a new party and reported meetings with currently arrested former president Mikheil Saakashvili in Washington – supported the narrative of external interference in Georgia’s domestic politics.
“When he talks about the invisible man [Gakharia mentioned the term in reference to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chair of the ruling GD party], everyone already understands who was trying to invisibly interfere in Georgian politics, justice, and society,” Papuashvili added, suggesting that “both Georgian authorities and the current US administration had since acknowledged and exposed this interference.”
