PM Kobakhidze: Torture was carried out in the state’s name, but the former ruling regime and party bear full responsibility

“A specific political party that held power committed specific crimes in the name of the state and took treasonous steps,” Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists in Dublin.

According to the head of government, instances of torture were likewise committed under the guise of state authority. Yet culpability rests squarely with that era’s regime and the political party that personified it.

“There was a specific political party in power at the time. Regrettably, that party committed specific crimes in the name of the state and took treasonous steps, including in relation to the 2008 war. When people were subjected to torture, that too was formally carried out in the name of the state, yet a specific regime and the political party that embodied it at the time were responsible for all of it.

Such statements therefore reflect not only irresponsibility, but outright incompetence. They lack the capacity to defend themselves because they objectively have no arguments. Under these circumstances, they are forced to make claims that are divorced from the truth,” Kobakhidze said.