Rasa Juknevičienė: I would like you to draw your attention to the recent BBC investigation. I call on the Commission and Council to react, to initiate an independent international investigation

“First of all, I would like to thank all my colleagues, who worked hard to ensure that the Sakharov Prize was awarded to two imprisoned journalists. Despite the distance of more than 2 thousand kilometers between the prisons of Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli, their fight for freedom is the same,” said MEP Rasa Juknevičienė in the European Parliament during the debates on Deepening Democratic Crisis in Georgia.

“How did it all start? Can this happen in our countries? In both Belarus and Georgia, everything started with democratic elections. The beginning was to supress independent media, national broadcasters. It is important for us to analyze the path of these nations to the day when journalists ended up in prison because our democracies are also under attack. The Sakharov Prize yesterday was about all prisoners suffering in Lukashenko and Bidzina Ivanishvili’s prisons. We send them a clear message from the European Parliament. You are not alone. We see you, we hear you, and we are trying to help you. You have many friends here in the European Parliament,” she said.

Rasa Juknevičienė spoke about the BBC investigation documentary and called on the European Commission and the Council of Europe to react to initiate an independent international investigation.

“The situation in Georgia is getting worse. I would like you to draw your attention to the recent BBC investigation. It reveals that a chemical agent from World War I was used in the suppression of protests in 2024. Chemicals were mixed in water cannons. This must be investigated and revealed. I call on the Commission and Council to react to initiate an independent international investigation. The fact that the Georgian authorities are afraid of an independent investigation only shows that they are afraid of the truth and punishment. This shows that the facts revealed by the BBC are most likely true. We must help the struggling Georgian people because Georgia is in Europe,” she stated.