Speaker Papuashvili: awarding Sakharov Prize to Georgian journalist ‘act of hostility toward country’

Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has condemned the European Parliament’s decision to award the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to arrested Georgian journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, calling it a politically motivated act that demonstrated hostility toward Georgia rather than recognition of human rights.

Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, Papuashvili said the decision showed Brussels’ “total disregard” for Georgia’s sovereignty, democratic order, and the will of its citizens.

“Awarding the Sakharov Prize to a Georgian is not an honor but an act of hostility toward the country. With this prize, they once again showed that they have no respect for our state, our sovereignty, our democracy, or our constitutional order,” Papuashvili said.

He described the European Parliament’s move as “provocation and incitement,” arguing that it encouraged radical and anti-state elements in Georgia.

“Brussels has chosen confrontation with the Georgian people and their democratic choice, while openly and covertly supporting marginal radical groups whose actions are becoming increasingly extreme and desperate,” he stated.

Papuashvili further argued that the European Parliament’s decision fitted a broader pattern of “political bias” and “selective solidarity,” citing past instances where, according to him, the EU glorified individuals who had engaged in violence during protests.

“We saw it before when Brussels declared as heroes those who threw Molotov cocktails at parliament, or when it awarded the Sakharov Prize to Alexei Navalny - a Russian nationalist who supported Georgia’s occupation,” he said. “Now, a prize named after Andrei Sakharov - who once called Georgia a ‘small empire’ - is being given to someone who, in our view, acted against the Georgian state.”

Papuashvili also claimed that the move reflected the EU’s “lack of sensitivity” toward Georgian society and its historical experience.

“If Brussels understood the true voice of the Georgian people, they would remember that the Sakharov Prize bears the name of a man who opposed Georgia’s territorial integrity. Awarding this prize to Mzia Amaghlobeli - a person convicted for offenses during protests - is a political statement, not a recognition of human rights,” he said.

Concluding his remarks, the speaker said the Georgian state would continue to protect order, security, and constitutional stability, despite what he called “external attempts to incite division.”