Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze
“We all know that the report was prepared in advance and published subsequently. Ultimately, we see that this report is permeated with lies from beginning to end,” Kobakhidze told reporters.
According to Newsgeorgia, Kobakhidze assures that the author of the report, expert Patrycja Grzebik, a professor at the University of Warsaw, “concealed a conflict of interest” when she failed to mention that she represented the government of the country that was the main initiator of the Moscow Mechanism on Georgia.
The prime minister promises to “expose all the inaccuracies” of the report and “provide the public with even better information”.
He insists that Georgia is one of the safest and most democratic countries in the region, rejecting the cases of gross human rights violations described in the report.
“Georgia is a leader among OSCE countries in terms of democratic development. The double standards are obvious and shameful. All this once again demonstrates the extremely complex processes that are developing in the European bureaucracy,” the prime minister said.
Nevertheless, Kobakhidze admitted that there were “violent incidents” and “criminal excesses” on the part of law enforcers during the dispersal of anti-government rallies.
“However, we have already taken measures to ensure that such things do not happen again in our country… As for torture, this is a blatant lie,” he said.
Is the OSCE being used against Georgia?
In turn, the country’s Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili said in an interview with Imedi TV channel that the Polish OSCE expert did not include the materials provided by the Georgian government in the Moscow Mechanism report.
“Despite the fact that Georgia showed full openness during the preparation of the report, the expert was in the country, but did not use the information obtained at meetings and did not take into account a significant amount of materials submitted by representatives of the Georgian authorities,” Bochorishvili said, quoted by Newsgeorgia.
According to the Minister, this shows that the report “serves the narrow interests of certain countries” and the OSCE itself is “used against Georgia.”
OSCE recommendations
The OSCE Moscow Mechanism report covers developments since the spring of 2024. It refers to systemic human rights violations in Georgia, including pressure on the opposition, harassment of journalists and activists, and instances of excessive use of force against protesters.
In the report, Grzebik recommended that OSCE member states consider imposing targeted sanctions against those responsible, as well as the possibility of holding suspected perpetrators of torture and inhuman treatment accountable through international courts or universal jurisdiction.
Recommendations for the Georgian authorities include releasing all political prisoners, repealing controversial laws, strengthening the independence of the judiciary and improving the electoral system.
In addition, the OSCE is concerned about Georgia’s new laws of 4 March, which restrict NGOs and foreign funding, prohibit them from participating in politics and criminalize actions that “undermine the legitimacy” of the government.
