On October 24, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili addressed Tiny Kox, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), in a letter that elaborated on Georgian Dream MPs' refusal to vote on the recent resolution regarding Russia and criticized the Assembly for including the former President Mikheil Saakashvili in the text.
The PACE resolution titled "Further escalation in the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine" condemned Moscow's annexation of the Ukrainian regions and declared the Russian regime a terrorist.
According to Speaker Papuashvili, Saakashvili's inclusion in the text stopped the delegation from endorsing the motion. He emphasized, "The modification changes the content and spirit of the resolution and undercuts the fundamental ideals of PACE and the credibility of the organization in promoting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law throughout Europe." The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rendered rulings concerning Saakashvili's tenure during that period. The Parliament Speaker used Saakashvili's role in the death of Aleksandre Girgvliani to argue against Saakashvili's human rights record. He mentioned Saakashvili's further convictions and the current legal proceedings against the former president.
Speaker Papuashvili pointed out that the ECtHR refused to accept Saakashvili's case regarding his treatment by Georgia's penitentiary and that doing so confirmed the rights and interests of Mikheil Saakashvili were fully protected by the penitentiary system per the standards of the ECHR. Papuashvili emphasized that having this in mind, they believe there is no evidence of political motivations in the charges against Saakashvili other than politically-driven speculations, and Georgia has a clear track record of protecting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law since 2012 and that the nation has had fewer cases at the ECtHR since Saakashvili's rule.
Speaker Papuashvili asserted that Amendment 4's language undermines Georgia's reform progress in human rights and the rule of law since 2012, poses an unsupported challenge to the Georgian legal system, and invites unjustified suspicion against Georgia in international fora. He added, "The false allegations against Saakashvili endanger the legitimacy of PACE in the eyes of the larger Georgian public and undermine our attempts to fortify support for the ambitious reform program in line with the pertinent PACE resolutions."
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