“Who would have thought that Georgia once the flag-bearer of democracy, not only in the region but among all Eastern Partnership countries, would turn into a Lukashenko-style autocracy? That today, we would be speaking not only about Belarusians in Lukashenko’s prison, but also Georgians in Bidzina Ivanishvili’s prisons?” MEP Rasa Juknevičienė stated at the European Parliament plenary during the debates on Georgia’s issue.

MEP Juknevičienė proposed to update the text of the resolution adopted by AFET in June.

“I would like to thank all the pro-European political groups in the European Parliament and their appointed shadow rapporteurs for the excellent cooperation. The attacks by representatives of the Ivanishvili regime against members of the European Parliament, even EU ambassadors, have only strengthened our common position. We understand that these statements do not reflect the views of the Georgian people. We see their struggle, and we recognise their clear desire to continue on the path towards EU membership.

As the situation has worsened since the AFET vote, new amendments by pro-European parties have been prepared, which I recommend we support.

The main proposed changes include: updating the text to reflect the most serious recent developments, specifically the detention and politically motivated sentencing of almost all main opposition leaders and the legal persecution of prominent civil society organisations; updating our opposition on the upcoming municipal elections due to the imprisonment of the key opposition leaders. These elections cannot be considered free and fair,” MEP Juknevičienė stated.

Rasa Juknevičienė also added that there will be two oral amendments, and proposed that the European Parliament support both.

“One relates to the worsening health of Mzia Amaglobeli, an imprisoned journalist whose condition is rapidly deteriorating. She’s losing her eyesight, has been denied proper medical care and remains behind bars for political reasons.

Another amendment strengthens the language around the review of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement. It calls for immediate action as Georgia has clearly breached core democratic principles. I want to emphasise – the full responsibility for the possible suspension of Georgia’s visa-free regime lies with Ivanishvili and his party. Visa-free travel is granted to democratic countries, not to regimes that imprison citizens for political reasons.

Georgia matters to all of Europe. The regime falsely claims that no one cares about the Georgian people. That is why their friends in the Kremlin, and the far-right like ESN, have proposed amendments opposing Georgia’s accession to the EU. No, we will not vote for that. The Georgian people, who have been fighting for European Georgia for over 200 days – our true European heroes, deserve our full respect and unwavering support,” MEP Juknevičienė concluded.