Public advocate slams gov’t for ‘ineffective management’ of COVID pandemic
Georgian Public Advocate Nino Lomjaria has accused current state leadership of ineffective management of the pandemic. Photo: Public Defender’s press office.
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Georgian Public Advocate Nino Lomjaria has slammed the Georgian Dream government for an ‘ineffective management of the coronavirus pandemic’ and an ‘ineffective vaccination campaign’ which has resulted in ‘many deaths.’
Speaking at a briefing dedicated to International Human Rights Day today, Lomjaria said that due to the ‘poor management of the pandemic,’ daily coronavirus cases and deaths remain high in Georgia.
As of December 9, Georgia is the seventh in the world for COVID deaths,” Lomjaria stated.
She also stated that the spread of information containing personal data was a problem this year, which has not been investigated properly.
Lomjaria also condemned a ‘large-scale, negative campaign against journalists,’ and recalled the July, 2021 events when right-wing activists attacked media representatives in central Tbilisi.
She stated that the recent municipal elections were ‘too polarized,’ and that the current government violated the rights of former president Mikheil Saakashvili when he was denied attendance at several trial hearings in cases concerning him.
Lomjaria stated that the abduction and illegal arrest of Georgian citizens by Russian-controlled occupation forces, as well as the restriction of freedom of movement on individuals living in the occupied Tskhinvali and Abkhazia regions are ‘still a serious problem.’
Georgia has reported 3,454 new cases of coronavirus, 3,334 recoveries and 49 deaths in the past 24 hours. The positivity rate in the country has come down to 8.06% as of December 10 over the last 14 days. Overall 44,723 remain infected with COVID-19 in Georgia.
Georgian citizen Malkhaz Janelidze who was illegally arrested by the Russian-controlled occupation forces on December 1 near the village of Vaneli in Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region was released late yesterday. Janelidze said following his release that he was travelling to Russia for work and treatment when he was detained.
Georgian media outlets have received files allegedly leaked from the country’s State Security Service (SSS), which contain personal data on clerics. The media outlets received a link to the files earlier today from ‘Hakim Pasha,’ titled 'Georgian State Security Sevice’s compromising materials against Patriarchate.’
Right wing activists who had gathered on Rustaveli Avenue this morning to protest the Tbilisi Pride march scheduled for 6 p.m. later today attacked journalists and cameramen on the spot, injuring dozens of media representatives. Among the injured media representatives there are eight from Rustavi 2, two journalists from TV Pirveli, and employees of On.ge, Tabula, Netgazeti, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and other media outlets.
Georgia has reported 3,542 new COVID-19 cases, 2,234 recoveries, and 64 deaths in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate for the past 14 days stands at 7.93%. 57,978 tests were conducted throughout the country in the last 24 hours. 34,558 of them were rapid tests, while the remaining 23,420 were PCR tests.