United Neutral Georgia’s Shakarashvili: Betrayal and sabotage must be criminally punishable

Vato Shakarashvili, a representative of the United Neutral Georgia public movement, is being questioned at the prosecutor’s office as part of an investigation into acts of attempted sabotage and assisting hostile activities of foreign-controlled organizations aimed at undermining state interests.

As Shakarashvili told journalists, it is essential to establish a precedent that betraying the country, sabotaging, and damaging the country’s interests for others’ benefit and financial interests should be punishable.

According to him, he will try to provide the prosecutor’s office with relevant materials to expand and increase the list of articles under investigation and interest the investigation in other articles as well.

“It is essential to establish a precedent that betrayal of our country, sabotage, and damaging our country’s interests for others’ benefit and financial interests becomes punishable. This precedent is necessary for our country to free itself from the spy network, for the country to move to a new stage of development, to calm down, and for real opposition to emerge in the political space rather than groups of people who betray our country in exchange for money and other mercantile interests, serve others’ interests, and receive money for this. This process must reach its conclusion, which will be holding specific individuals accountable,” stated Shakarashvili.

For information, according to the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office, on February 8, the Investigative Division of the General Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation under Article 318(1), Article 19,318(2), and Article 319 of the Criminal Code of Georgia into cases of sabotage with aggravating circumstances, attempted sabotage, and assisting hostile activities of foreign organizations and foreign-controlled organizations aimed at undermining Georgia’s state interests.

According to the investigative agency, the probe has been launched based on a statement submitted to the General Prosecutor’s Office by representatives of the United Neutral Georgia public movement.