16 NGOs call on president to veto bill on abolishment of State Inspector’s Service

Sixteen leading Georgian NGOs have called on President Salome Zurabishvili to abolish the bill initiated by the ruling Georgian Dream party MPs which proposes the split of State Inspector;s Service into two agencies – one which will look into alleged offenses committed by law enforcers and another one which will deal with personal data protection. 

The ruling party claims that the ‘functions are compatible’ and that is why the agency, which was founded in 2018, should be reorganized. 

However, the NGOs and State Insector Londa Toloraia say that the agency faced problems for its unbiased assessments, including the conclusions made in terms of the cases of imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili. 

The NGOs welcomed Zurabishvili’s statement that she did not welcome the pushing forward of the bill in a hastily manner and expressed hope that the president will use her right to veto the bill. 

Foreign embassies in Georgia have already criticized the ruling party for the bill.