“Great Britain has not relinquished its position at the top of the league table of shameful decisions,” declared MP Davit Matikashvili, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Procedural Issues.

He stated that the British Ambassador would need to answer the legitimate questions posed by the Georgian side today, questions about how they claim to be supporting Ukraine against Russia, while simultaneously suppressing free speech within Georgia.

“It would be laughable if it weren’t so tragic. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson practically prevented Ukraine from signing the peace agreement in Istanbul, an agreement that could have largely preserved the pre-war territorial status quo. Today, Britain sanctions Georgian TV companies Imedi and PosTV for a ludicrous reason. It turns out that these channels are supposedly contributing to the destabilisation of Ukraine. Such cynicism and this amorphous attitude towards current events are characteristic of decisions made by Britain.

For instance, the Druzhba oil pipeline, through which Russian oil and gas flow to Europe, earning Russia billions from the EU, apparently doesn’t warrant sanctions because it supposedly helps Ukraine in the war. Meanwhile, Imedi and PosTV, which advocate for free speech, are penalised because they supposedly destabilise Ukraine. They must know one thing: the Georgian people would never allow Imedi to disappear,” said Davit Matikashvili.

He recalled that, during a period when the so-called Fifth Column was in power, the Imedi building was smashed with clubs, kicks, and weapons; journalists were beaten, and the station itself was seized. Yet, in the end, justice prevailed.

“Imedi was returned to its rightful owners, the Georgian people. Today, however, the platforms of free speech in Georgia, Imedi and PosTV, are shamelessly and dishonestly sanctioned. But all these efforts are in vain, for force cannot silence truth. The more subjective pressure is applied to Georgia’s free media, the stronger the support and solidarity for these channels become. These sanctions aim to stifle free speech. They seek to silence voices that dissent from their narrative. In their view, society should be confined within a distorted, degraded labyrinth of information, where alternative opinions that challenge the agendas of unseen global powers must be ruthlessly eradicated.

They should at least pause to consider their actions, to craft a single plausible argument. They mentioned Imedi and PosTV in connection with destabilising Ukraine. Has anyone ever heard such nonsense before? This audacity demands answers, which is precisely why the British ambassador has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The architects of this decision have only made fools of themselves,” concluded Davit Matikashvili.