Sunday, November 10, 2024

MIA addresses allegations of improper protest response

“In response to recent media reports alleging that the Ministry of Internal Affairs violated the law by using water cannons and tear gas simultaneously during protests against the Transparency of Foreign Influence law, we clarify that these claims are false and misleading,” stated the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Ministry reaffirms that all measures employed during the protests adhere to European standards and the practices adopted by police forces across Europe.

“The Law on Police of Georgia regulates the use of special methods by law enforcement. According to Article 33, Paragraph III, tear gas can be used to repel attacks on individuals, police officers, or protected objects, as well as to prevent mass violations of public order. Water cannons, on the other hand, are authorized to prevent mass disturbances and group attacks on state or public facilities.

The type and intensity of special measures used by police are determined based on the circumstances, in full compliance with the law. Importantly, neither the Law on Police nor any related regulations prohibit the simultaneous use of water cannons and tear gas.

Furthermore, international guidelines, including those from Amnesty International and OSCE/ODIHR, do not impose such restrictions. Amnesty International even notes that marker dyes or chemical agents can be added to water used in water cannons. The OSCE/ODIHR handbook permits the use of tear gas to disperse violent assemblies. However, it should not be deployed in areas where individuals have no viable means of escape.

The Ministry reaffirms that all measures used during protests align with European standards and practices employed by police forces across the continent.

The dissemination of false information serves only to mislead the public and to deliberately discredit the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” the Ministry concluded.

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Georgian wheelchair fencer Irma Khetsuriani wins gold at IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Cup

Georgian wheelchair fencer Irma Khetsuriani won the gold medal in rapier fencing at the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Cup 2024 in Pisa, Italy. Khetsuriani defeated Belarusian Aleksandra Ilminskaya 15:7 in the semi-finals before defeating Ukrainian Nadiia Doloh 15:13 in the final.

Latvian PM: We appreciate all initiatives taken by Georgian society to protect their democracy

“We appreciate all the initiatives taken by Georgian society to protect their democracy. Because it’s the Georgian people who will decide if they are going directly and passing into Europe, as Moldova, Latvia, and the Baltic states are fighting for,” Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said before the informal meeting of Heads of State and Government in Budapest, Hungary. “It’s very important that we can understand from independent observers of the election process their real analysis of how the election process was performed.” Yesterday, we heard from Moldova’s experience that almost 10 per cent of their elections were influenced by Russia. So, we really understand the very difficult situation in countries which are closer to Russia,” she told reporters.  

District Election Commissions conclude complaint reviews over October 26 Elections

Giorgi Santuriani, head of the Central Election Commission’s legal department, on Friday presented statistics on the review of complaints related to the October 26 elections. According to Santuriani, the complaint review process has been concluded.“Overall, 1201 complaints were filed with the district election commission concerning Election Day. Of these, 537 are concerned with declaring invalid the results of the Precinct Election Commission or recounting. 466 complaints were submitted with requests for disciplinary action, while 47 were submitted without such requests. The number of complaints requesting an appropriate response or action totalled 151. Out of the complaints submitted, 167 were either fully or partially upheld, while 917 were dismissed. Additionally, 107 complaints, representing 8.9% of the total, were not discussed. The complaint was withdrawn in 3 cases. Only 10 complaints are being discussed at this point, which do not concern election results or are not directly connected to results and concerns drawing up the protocol of administrative offence. The review period for the aforementioned complaints is 10 days, after which an appropriate decision will be issued. As a result of the submitted complaints and the ensuing decisions, disciplinary measures were imposed on 290 members of precinct election commissions. A total of 12 mobile ballot box results were annulled on the commission’s own initiative, with related complaints also submitted concerning these cases. Additionally, the results from 12 precinct election commissions were recounted on the commission’s initiative, with corresponding complaints submitted for some of these recounted results. In total, based on the grounds prescribed by law, the results of 427 precinct election commissions were recounted. However, the recounts did not result in any significant changes to the final outcomes. The overall changes can be considered minimal. Additionally, I would also like to present information on complaints referring to drawing up the protocol for administrative offences. This pertains to complaints alleging potential violations of existing regulations concerning electoral campaigning or the misuse of state resources. A total of 114 complaints were filed. The majority of them are concerned about the agitation through social media. Overall, a total of 65 complaints of such nature were filed, and following review, 12 protocols of administrative offence were drawn up and referred to the courts. The decisions made by the District Election Commissions were subsequently appealed to the general courts. Specifically, the cases in the courts of first instance have been fully resolved, while in the appellate courts, only one case is scheduled for hearing today. We have not yet received any information regarding the outcome. Therefore, the consideration of election disputes has been fully completed, both within the election administration and in the general courts,” stated Santuriani.

Speaker urges respect for OSCE/ODIHR report, affirms Georgia’s elected gov’t

“The OSCE/ODIHR has confirmed, both orally and in writing, that elections were held in Georgia and that the country has an elected government,” stated Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili. The Speaker emphasized the importance of respecting the OSCE/ODIHR report. “I urge everyone to adhere strictly to the conclusions drawn by the OSCE/ODIHR. Unfortunately, a troubling trend has emerged. Initially, it was stated that the OSCE/ODIHR’s conclusions would serve as a guiding framework, but it seems that some individuals have disregarded the report in favour of alternative opinions, such as those from ISFED or Transparency International. Therefore, I call on everyone to align their statements with the OSCE/ODIHR report. The OSCE/ODIHR has clearly articulated, both orally and in writing, that elections were conducted in Georgia and that the country has an elected government. This information has been presented, and it is imperative that everyone respects this and adheres to this principle when addressing the Georgian government and its citizens,” he concluded.

PM: Georgia’s opposition lacks independence, functions as foreign agents

“The so-called opposition in Georgia has no independence at all, they are simply foreign agents,” Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze told the media. According to Kobakhidze, when a demand came that the government did not take into account, because it was protecting the national interests of the country, the next day the opposition was taken out to the street, which clearly indicates direct communication. “It always happened this way, when the discussions touched on the topics of war, the imposition of sanctions or the sending of volunteer fighters by aircraft, it was always like this – some demand came, we did not do it, because we were protecting the national interests of our own country, and the next day they took the opposition out to the street and demanded the same thing on the street. It is clear here that there is direct communication. These political parties, the so-called opposition in Georgia, have no independence at all, they are just foreign agents, and they yell whatever they are told to yell, as Khazaradze said,” the Prime Minister stated.

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