GEORGIA: European Parliament Criticizes the Kotsebi & more – 23rd Jan 2025

TRANSCRIPTION

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 23rd of January twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

On Tuesday, the 21st, the European Parliament discussed the political situation in Georgia. Most European lawmakers criticized the Georgian Dream or the Kotsebi for its anti-European stance and the crackdown on protesters. Magnus Brunner, the EU’s Home Affairs Commissioner, raised alarms about Georgia’s democratic decline, condemning violence and political persecution. He called for the release of people who were unlawfully detained and suggested new parliamentary elections to rebuild trust in Georgia’s democracy.

Many MEPs supported these points, while some criticized the EU for not acting more decisively, calling for stronger sanctions. However, a few MEPs defended Georgia’s sovereignty and accused the EU of interfering too much. The European Parliament will vote on a new resolution about Georgia in February.

Next up, on Sunday, the 19th, President Salome Zurabishvili gave an interview on Fox News about the growing threats Georgia faces from Russian influence and its puppet government, the Kotsebi. She called on the U.S. to pay more attention to the region, stressing Georgia’s key role in stopping Russia from destabilizing the Caucasus and the Black Sea.

She warned that if Georgia teams up with Russia, China, and Iran, it will hurt U.S. interests and pointed out that Georgia has been a close partner to the U.S. for thirty years. She also raised concerns about China taking control of key Black Sea ports under the current Georgian government. Zurabishvili urged the U.S. to support the Georgian people and stand against Russia’s push for dominance in the region.

On Saturday, the 18th, Saba Buadze, one of the leaders of the Coalition Strong Georgia or Dzlieri - Lelo, and his colleague Ramaz Mandaria were attacked as they were leaving their party office. Buadze says that the police did not contact him after the incident and have shown no interest in investigating the case, as the police did not even collect the knife dropped by one of the attackers.

The coalition issued an official statement, calling the incident a clear case of political retaliation, with the government using violence and thugs to intimidate its opponents

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While we're on the topic of politics and crime, on Sunday, the 19th, the Kotsebi’s President Misha Kavelashvili pardoned over 600 prisoners. The Social Justice Center or SJC, a local NGO criticized the pardon, calling it politically motivated. They expressed concern that such an unusually large number of pardons, given out shortly after Kavelashvili assumed the position, might have been granted to reward the criminal groups that helped the Kotsebi to intimidate the opposition and win the parliamentary elections.

The SJC warns that this move undermines public safety. They emphasize that such decisions should be more transparent and based on clear criteria to ensure accountability and public trust. The SJC views this as an abuse of presidential power.

On Friday, the 17th, Gustav Getberg, a member of the Swedish Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, announced that the Sweden-Georgia Parliamentary Friendship Group decided to immediately suspend all contact with the Georgian Parliament. The group is agasint the unconstitutional appointment of the new president and calls for new elections in Georgia.

In related news. On Wednesday, the 22nd, the Estonian Parliament issued a statement on Georgia, condemning Russia's attempts to polarize Georgian society and interfere in the elections. The statement criticizes Georgia's October parliamentary elections as fraudulent and undemocratic.

The Estonian Parliament refuses to recognize Georgia's current leadership. It calls for new elections, condemned the repression of peaceful protests, and urged the EU to sanction Georgian officials involved in these actions and limit communication with Georgia’s government until free elections are held.

A new Human Rights Watch report highlights a decline in human rights in Georgia in twenty twenty-four. It criticizes a statement from the 28th of November by Irakli Kobakhidze, removing EU accession talks from the agenda and sparking protests. The report mentions many things we have covered in previous shows, such as the use of excessive force by the police, violent mobs linked to the government beating protesters, and hundreds of demonstrators being arrested and abused.

It also condemns a Russian-style law targeting civil organizations and journalists as foreign agents, and an anti-LGBT law disguised as protecting family values. It raised concerns over fraud in the October parliamentary elections and the case of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, who was refused asylum status in Georgia and will face unjust treatment if extradited back to his homeland.

Last week, we reported on an attack on Gogi Gakharia in Batumi, a major tourist city in western Georgia. The attacker was Dito Samkharadze, an MP from the ruling party. A snippet of the recording was shown by the state propaganda channel IMEDI, where Gakharia is seen splashing a cup of coffee on Samkharadze, who is acting aggressively towards him. However, the full recording, which should feature the physical assault and a separate incident in which Samkharadze acted aggressively toward a journalist, has not been released.

Natia Mezvrishvili, deputy chair of Gakharia's party, says that the Sheraton Hotel, where the incident occurred, informed them that the footage was handed over to investigators. Mezvrishvili accused the hotel of destroying evidence, as previously it promised to retain the footage even if the investigation requested it. She also alleged that authorities were coordinating with the hotel to erase evidence.

On another note, on Tuesday, the 21st, the Supreme Court of Russian-occupied Abkhazia sentenced Kaha Muradov to fifteen years in prison on the charges of treason and spying for Georgia. The prosecutor's office said he had both Abkhazian and Georgian citizenship. They released a video showing his arrest in Gagra, where he was accused of spying.

During a search, they said they had found evidence linking him to the Georgian Legion, which consists of Georgian soldiers fighting on the side of Ukraine. They also found equipment used for spying and weapons. In the video, Muradov admitted he worked for Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, keeping track of Russian military movements and sharing that info with Georgian authorities.

The NGO Civic IDEA has recently released two new reports shedding light on the growing influence of China in Georgia. The first examines the involvement of the Chinese state-owned China Railway Tunnel Group or CRTG in overseeing two critical infrastructure projects in Georgia: the Kvesheti-Kobi highway and the Stepantsminda-Gveleti road. The report raises concerns about security risks, infrastructure deficiencies, and CRTG’s history of international violations.

The second report highlights Georgian government institutions' increasing procurement of Chinese surveillance technology. It reveals a rising trend from twenty nineteen to twenty twenty-four and outlines concerns over data insecurity, cyber threats, and human rights violations. These issues have led to the banning of Chinese technology in several Western countries.

To read the reports, check out the links in the show notes.

Closing this edition with sports news, on Friday, the 19th, Merab Dvalishvili took down Umar Nurmagomedov to successfully defend his UFC bantamweight championship belt for the first time. The thirty-four-year-old Georgian fighter faced off his opponent, who fought under the Russian flag, and gave a dominating performance that had everyone in Georgia celebrating.

Dvalishvili claimed the title in September twenty twenty-four by beating Sean O'Malley, and with this win, he now holds a nineteen wins - four loses record in MMA, extending his win streak to twelve fights. He also handed Nurmagomedov his first-ever loss, breaking his flawless eighteen-zero record.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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Nakhvamdis!