US State Department responds to Prime Minister of Georgia's accusations

JAMnews

Tbilisi

The State Department responded to the accusations of Garibashvili

The US State Department has responded to the allegations of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili by stating that it fully supports the contents of Georgia’s annual report on the state of human rights. The White House announced this while answering questions from the Formula TV channel.

On March 21, Irakli Garibashvili stated that he was not interested in the report of the US State Department. According to the prime minister, “the report is largely based on false information and the government is ‘not interested’.” According to Garbiashvili, the report is based on biased, biased and unfair conclusions submitted by so-called elite NGOs.

“The facts presented [the case of Afgan Mukhtarli of July 5, 2021] do not correspond to reality, they are just speculations, conclusions and generalizations based on false, fabricated information of some politically engaged people. We are not interested. 10 years ago and even earlier, when, for example, there was systemic corruption, systematic crime in the country, people were tortured, raped, killed, businesses were seized, there was no freedom of the media at all, there was not a single free TV channel, I don’t remember these facts The State Department mentioned in the report that it is regrettable,” Garibashvili said.

On March 20, the United States Department of State published a report on the state of human rights in Georgia in 2022. The document refers, in particular, to the presence of political prisoners in Georgia, for example, about the case of the director of the Mtavari TV company Nika Gvaramia. In addition, facts about torture or inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment are included, in particular about how the government treats ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, who is in custody.

According to the White House, “the failure of the government to punish the organizers of the July 5 pogroms” [talking about the violence committed by homophobic groups against members of the public who were supposed to hold the March of Dignity as part of the Tbilisi Pride, as well as members of the media] led to impunity. The document also mentions the judicial system in Georgia as a serious problem, along with insufficiently objective investigations and politically motivated persecutions.

According to the White House, “the failure of the government to punish the organizers of the July 5 pogroms” [talking about the violence committed by homophobic groups against members of the public who were supposed to hold the March of Dignity as part of the Tbilisi Pride, as well as members of the media] led to impunity. The document also mentions the judicial system in Georgia as a serious problem, along with insufficiently objective investigations and politically motivated persecutions.

According to the White House press office, the messages that raised concerns related to the rule of law, including prosecutions, which many describe as politically motivated. In addition, the White House explains that they will continue their partnership with the Georgian people and call on the government to carry out all the necessary reforms.

The statement also notes that this is the 47th Human Rights Report the State Department has presented to the US Congress, and all previous human rights reports are publicly available online:

“We encourage those who are interested in the content of previous reports to read them. Each report contains a footnote to the specific sources of information on which the report is based.

“Over the past 30 years, we have worked together on our common vision of a Georgia that is fully integrated into the Euro-Atlantic family and is part of a whole, free and peaceful Europe. We will continue to work with the Georgian people as they strive for a democratic, prosperous and Euro-Atlantic future. We continue to urge the Georgian authorities to carry out the necessary reforms to obtain EU candidate status and to do so in a transparent manner with the participation of all stakeholders.

Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine highlights the need to work together to uphold the solidarity of Georgia and Ukraine. The Georgian people are well aware that Russian aggressive actions, including disinformation, the so-called. borderization and mass immigration are causing countless problems and destruction,” the State Department said in a response.