Today, Georgia is experiencing repression. Innocent people, journalists, actors, students, civil society leaders and political leaders are being dragged to police stations, charged and sentenced on fabricated charges, - the fifth President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, stated in her speech at the plenary session of the Lithuanian Seimas.
“Right now, as I speak here, the trial of one of the famous actors is underway. Also, not famous people are also subject to the repression and lawlessness. They can be sentenced to 11 years for nothing, for peacefully expressing their protest. The government, which reflects Russian tactics, is using the judicial system and the police as weapons against its own citizens,” - Zourabichvili noted.
She also spoke about the case of Mzia Amaglobeli, the founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, and stated that she was arrested simply for doing her job.
“There is the high-profile case of Ms. Mzia Amaglobeli. This is a respected journalist who was arrested simply for doing her job, covering protests. All the actors and students who joined the peaceful demonstrations have been charged with gang violence. These are not criminals, these are ordinary people who believe in freedom. In today’s Georgia, believing in democracy is enough to put you behind bars. Journalists of a public channel, those who should serve their country and population, are publicly accused by the channel’s governing board of anti-state activities for the opinions they express, which is going to be investigated by the Prosecutor General. 1937, unfortunately, sounds very close,” the fifth President of Georgia noted.
