Vice Speaker accuses EU diplomat of spreading ‘lies’ about Georgia at UN

Georgia’s parliamentary deputy speaker Nino Tsilosani has accused an EU diplomat of making false claims about Georgia’s human rights record at the United Nations.

Tsilosani was on Wednesday responding to remarks by the deputy head of the EU Delegation to the UN, who said the bloc was calling on Georgia to repeal or substantially revise legislation adopted recently.

“There are serious security challenges around the world and a war is underway in the region. Yet the EU ambassador to the UN found the time to tell lies about Georgia and raise a false alarm over human rights,” Tsilosani said.

She argued that people currently in detention in Georgia had been arrested in accordance with the law.

“It is clear to everyone that whether someone was a journalist or a participant in a demonstration, they were detained in accordance with the law. Despite this, Georgia’s name was loudly mentioned at the UN, and in an incorrect context,” she said.

Tsilosani claimed the comments showed that EU officials remained interested in portraying Georgia negatively.

The EU representative’s statement also said the bloc “condemns arbitrary detentions and growing repression, including the detention of opposition leaders, independent journalists, media workers and civil society actors.”