US embassy says content of wiretapped tape featuring Georgian PM should also be investigated

The US Embassy to Georgia has reported that they are ‘watching closely’ the developments around channel TV Pirveli which has recently released a audio recording allegedly featuring a wiretap of a conversation between Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili and the son of the founder of the Georgian Dream ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili. 

• Georgian court grants seizure request for wiretap tapes from TV Pirveli involving PM Garibashvili

The embassy says that both the making of the secret recording and the content of the audio tape should be investigated. 

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The recording focuses on an alleged intimidation campaign to ‘humiliate and punish’ minors for online posts insulting the Ivanishvili family back in 2011, under the United National Movement government. 

Tbilisi City Court has allowed the Prosecutor’s Office to confiscate the audio tapes from the channel. 

The embassy says that they are ‘closely watching’ the interactions between the law enforcement and members of the media. 

The embassy reports that the ‘balanced, impartial application of the rule of law’ and the right of journalists to safeguard their sources ‘must remain priorities as this investigation is conducted.’ 

Both secret recordings and threats or intimidation are illegal, reprehensible, and should be investigated in accordance with the law. We urge all involved to approach this situation professionally and with restraint. The legal system must function in a fair and impartial manner and must not be misused to achieve political ends through selective prosecution,” said the embassy. 

Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili has stated that like many others he was the victim of illegal surveillance under the United National Movement government. Photo:  Irakli Garibashvili's Facebook page. 

The EU mediator to Georgia in the talks between the ruling party and the opposition Christian Danielsson has refrained from commenting on the issue because he was not aware of the details. However, he said that the EU is ‘closely watching’ media-related issues in all partner states. 

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated earlier today that the country’s third President Mikheil Saakashvili is behind the ‘dirty provocation of a fake audio recording.’ 

The recording is a fabrication of the conversation which was made 11 years ago, under the United National Movement government which confirms once again that we all were the victims of total control and illegal surveillance,” Garibashvili stated.

He said that ‘of course, Saakashvili stands behind the provocation’ to hamper making an agreement between the ruling party and the opposition amid the current political tension. 

The Prosecutor's Office is looking into unauthorised recording of a private conversation or wiretapping, as well as recording of private communication, illegal use and dissemination of information obtained through technical means.

• Civil society, opposition urge to investigate alleged crime after TV Pirveli airs covert audio tapes involving Georgian PM

The opposition and the civil sector say that the recording contains the ‘signs of a crime’ and the Prosecutor’s Office ‘must also look into it.’