For Georgia’s Kereselidze: I cannot comment on protests in France and Italy, but authorities used violence in Georgia

“If there were violations of the law or abuses of authority by the authorities or protesters during the demonstrations in Europe, we are confident that a fair investigation will establish the truth and that anyone who exceeded their authority will be held accountable in accordance with the law,” Shalva Kereselidze, head of the For Georgia parliamentary faction, said.

He stressed that European courts do not act on political orders and are not subject to government influence.

“I do not have information about who financed those protests or who was behind them. If we had such information, I could comment in much greater detail. I do not know who financed the demonstrations or who was behind them.

We did not see similarities between what we witnessed in Paris and Milan and the situation in Georgia. If anyone violated the law or exceeded their authority there, a fair investigation will establish the facts, and an independent and impartial court will determine the truth. Courts in France and Italy will not and cannot act on political orders because their judicial systems are independent, unlike ours, unfortunately.

Here in Georgia, the courts obey the government, receive its instructions and carry them out. In neither France nor Italy were chemical agents sprayed at protesters, protesters robbed, or protesters called late at night and insulted over the phone.

We requested the establishment of a parliamentary investigative commission, but our request was rejected because Georgian Dream conducted and concluded its investigation within a single day, in just a few hours.

I cannot say whether there was violence in France and Italy because I was not present at those demonstrations. There may have been violence or abuses of authority, and I do not rule that out. In Georgia, however, there was violence and insulting behavior by the authorities, as well as robbery.

Nowhere should it be acceptable to call citizens, including protesters expressing their opposition to something, in the middle of the night and insult them. When misconduct occurs, what matters is that both sides are properly assessed and held accountable under the law.

We have not seen a single law enforcement official punished. We do not even know whether the masked special forces officers who allegedly acted in the name of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were actually members of the special forces. That is the issue.

European courts do not act on political orders or come under government influence, unlike the Georgian courts, which carry out political instructions,” Kereselidze said.