UNM’s Dekanoidze: if authorities have nothing to fear over BBC chemical weapons report, they should invite UN experts

Khatia Dekanoidze, Deputy Chair of the National Committee of the opposition United National Movement, on Monday said if the authorities have nothing to fear regarding the BBC investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons during last year’s anti-government protests, they should invite UN experts and initiate legal proceedings, noting the Government has sufficient resources to do so at any time.

Dekanoidze added if the ruling Georgian Dream party had the will, it would have already filed a lawsuit against the BBC over the issue related to chemical weapons.

“They have unlimited resources to prepare and submit such a lawsuit. They were saying they would file complaints with a regulator, for example in the UK, or in various courts. But they did not even continue this process, nor did they explain why they no longer intend to sue.

“They are not even addressing the issue propagandistically, which raises the suspicion we had that the evidence held by the BBC may be partly public and partly unpublished and that they themselves know this evidence exists, which is why they are refraining,” Dekanoidze said.

She stressed that given the scale of available resources, the authorities could have filed a lawsuit at any moment.

“If they are not afraid, then they should invite experts, UN experts. This is entirely possible and the country has the appropriate mechanisms to do so,” Dekanoidze added.