“Pardons are not within my competence; this falls within the competence of the President of Georgia, therefore it is for him to decide whom, when, and on what grounds to pardon,” the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, stated.

Moreover, according to Shalva Papuashvili, punishment must follow any crime, and awareness of this is important.

“Today, there is an attempt to portray crime as virtue, violence as love, and the burning of Parliament as a celebration of democracy. Corrupt Georgians, funded from abroad, are engaged in this deception today. It is essential that justice follows every offence, and that those who dare to commit crimes must also have the courage to face the consequences.

As regards pardons, this is a humanitarian act. It is important to state that we are talking about criminals; they do not want this said, which is being incited today by certain parties from abroad, and it is because of them that certain people are confined in prison today. All sentences are proportionate. Georgia’s independent judiciary determines the proportionality of sentences, and this judiciary has had its say,” declared Shalva Papuashvili.

According to him, the problem today is that external forces seek to impose violence, hatred, and actions against the country onto Georgia, all while presenting these as signs of pro-Europeanism.

“Apparently, preparing a Molotov cocktail, pouring in petrol, then stuffing cloth inside, lighting it, throwing it at a person and setting them on fire is pro-Europeanism. This is what Brussels is saying today: that throwing Molotov cocktails at people is pro-Europeanism. Observe the language used by Brussels and some of their political leaders or representatives; they often speak of individuals as being ‘unjustly convicted’ or similar terms. But who is truly unjustly convicted? Is throwing a Molotov cocktail an injustice? The core issue is simple: a crime must be recognised as a crime.

When Brussels labels a criminal act as a virtuous deed, or claims that someone who threw a Molotov cocktail is unjustly arrested, or that a person detained for secretly recording their wife’s private life is being unjustly held, or that a fraudster is unjustly detained, that is where the real problem lies.

You see the placards, don’t you? You see the names written on these placards? The so-called prisoners of conscience, as they call them. You see their names and surnames, the list, everyone is included amongst them. The person who burned someone alive is included, the person who filmed private videos at his own wife’s expense is included, who was the ideological leader of one of these violent groups, fraudsters are included, and everyone, those who attacked police officers, those who set fire to Parliament. This is being sold to us today as Europeanism. This is evidence of Europe’s moral degradation and proof that Brussels is today leading the European Union towards a civilisational abyss.

Precisely this, the very act they call ‘pro-Europeanism,’ burning a human being, what could be more shameful than that?” declared Shalva Papuashvili.

According to the Speaker of Parliament, in the Middle Ages in Europe, they burned people, and if pro-Europeanism means throwing Molotov cocktails, burning people alive, this is Europeanism from several centuries ago.

“They are mired in this ideology. What do you think the symbolism of a Molotov cocktail represents? Precisely those Middle Ages, that burning at the stake of a person with whom you disagreed ideologically. In this respect, yes, sir, this is indeed pro-European, only from several centuries ago,” stated Shalva Papuashvili.