Georgian Parliament Speaker denounces “disinformation” on foreign influence law, citing ECHR ruling

Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, on Friday claimed a “significant victory” in countering what he described as a “lie of the century” regarding the Transparency of Foreign Influence’ law adopted this year, condemned by domestic and foreign actors for its potential impact on freedom of expression.

Speaking at a recent briefing, Papuashvili addressed what he called a disinformation campaign aimed at equating Georgia’s transparency legislation with Russian law, noting that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had “effectively dispelled these comparisons”.

“The Strasbourg court put an end to the lie of the century,” Papuashvili claimed, explaining that the ECHR “explicitly outlined” the problematic elements of the Russian law in question.

According to Papuashvili, the court’s detailed findings “clearly indicated” that the issues criticized in Russian law did not apply to Georgia’s transparency legislation, which he said “aims to regulate foreign influence without replicating the restrictive framework seen in Russia”.