During the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Eka Sepashvili, a member of the permanent delegation of the Georgian Parliament, addressed the issue of strategic lawsuits against public participation, emphasizing the importance of having solid evidence and facts to avoid harming decision-makers in the execution of their duties.

She pointed out that being a media, civil society representative, or activist doesn’t grant someone the right to manipulate, spread misinformation, or cause reputational damage to individuals by promoting false perceptions.

“Let me say some words about the report about countering SLAPPs – a strategic lawsuit against public participation, an imperative for a democratic society. It is very important and very crucial to identify such cases and support media freedom and freedom of expression from the public society representative, from media, from activists and so on. But on the other hand, we should be very cautious and very careful in order not to make a mistake in such approaches.

When we are speaking about SLAPP cases, the evidence, facts, and arguments should be sound and clear in order not to harm policymakers, public servants or decision-makers when they are performing their tasks and not to impede their efficient work. The fact that a person is a media or civil society representative or an activist does not give them the right to manipulate or fabricate disinformation. Sometimes, they create a false perception among the population and among voters. This is harmful to the reputation of a person, which is very hard to restore.

We should be very careful when identifying the cases of SLAPP. In this regard, we should remember that human rights are universal rights, and we should exercise that right to everybody, amongst them when we are speaking and when we are identifying the cases of SLAPPs.

Overall, we must execute and combat SLAPP cases, but always remember that public servants, decision-makers or policymakers have their rights, and such kind of evidence should be sound, and the rule of law should be maintained in every case,” Sepashvili stated.