Mayor Kaladze: It’s good that those involved in the 4 October unrest understand the gravity of their crimes, and humanity is part of our policy

“On 4 October they tried to carry out the coup plan they had been openly talking about, but the relevant agencies acted in time,” Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze said.

He said the public can see who was behind these events, who encouraged them and where the funding came from.

“Now that we are talking about banning parties, isn’t it obvious where this 4 October business came from? Whose money was behind it? Who was encouraging it? Do you think people don’t understand what is going on? Don’t understand where all this is being directed from? Don’t understand who is controlling these people?

Do you remember what was happening before 4 October? For months there was an open campaign saying we must stage a coup, overthrow the government, start a revolution. Did you hear a single representative of an EU country, an ambassador or, say, an MEP come out and condemn any of it? How could they condemn it, when they themselves were directly encouraging and facilitating it all? So, on 4 October, they tried to execute the very plans they had been boasting about beforehand. Fortunately, the relevant authorities stepped in dynamically and effectively, and today those individuals are behind bars. Although they committed very serious crimes, several are apologising and admitting their guilt. The government, for its part, is taking a humane approach to all this. It is good that they understand this crime and how serious it is. And humanity is part of our policy,” Kaladze said.