Wall Street Journal publishes Justice Minister’s letter outlining Saakashvili case

A top official is staunchly supporting the Georgian Government and has spoken out to international media to defend the country’s decision to impose criminal charges on former president Mikheil Saakashvili.

Georgia’s Justice Minister responded to a Wall Street Journal editorial that criticized the Georgian Government’s move to sentence Saakashvili for numerous criminal offences.

Her letter, titled ‘Georgia Isn’t Backsliding into Authoritarianism’ was published by the Wall Street Journal as a response to an editorial titled ‘What a Georgian Shame’ that was published in the Review & Outlook section on July 30.

The editorial called Georgia a "backslider" on democracy and accused the current Government of "political vengeance" against the former government of Mikheil Saakashvili.

But Minister Thea Tsulukiani defended the current Government and said: "The investigation of Mikheil Saakashvili isn't about politics, it's about justice.”

In her piece she highlighted that the charges against Saakashvili have been brought on not by the Government, as implied in the editorial, but by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office, an independent body.

The Office became independent from the Ministry of Justice in 2013 as part of Georgia's sweeping reforms.

The Minister said: "There is indeed plenty of shame in Georgia's past but 2007 marked a turning point. We will not run away from it, we will learn from it and move forward.”

"Victims have a right to receive answers to their complaints. The independent investigation into Mr Saakashvili must follow the facts, operate transparently and uphold the law. This isn't about politics, this is about justice,” she said.

Georgia’s Chief Prosecutor’s Office officially filed criminal charges against the ex-president on July 28.

The criminal case pertained to violent dispersal of anti-governmental mass protests on November 7, 2007; unlawful raiding of Imedi television company by riot police and illegal take-over of property owned by late media tycoon Badri (Arkadi) Patarkatsishvili. In addition, he was also recently charged with organising a vicious attack on opposition member of Parliament Valeri Gelashvili nine years ago.