Ex-Pres. Saakashvili “paid for” EP resolutions, sanctions against own country - Vice PM
Thea Tsuslukiani said Saakashvili had acted “against his own country and people” both in office and following his term as President. Photo: Government press office
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Thea Tsulukiani, the Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, on Wednesday said the latest disclosure of the United States-based law firm Akerman with the country’s Department of Justice had “proved” the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili had “paid for” European Parliament resolutions calling for his release and for lobbying for sanctions to be placed on the Georgian Government for his alleged ill-treatment in detention.
Published on Tuesday, the new information revealed the firm had been involved in drawing up a draft resolution for the EP that was critical of the Georgian Government around Saakashvili’s imprisonment, preparation of articles about the health condition of the former President for international media, and persuasion of US senators and communicate with UK officials to pursue sanctions against Georgia over his treatment in detention.
In her press comments, Tsulukiani called the information “disturbing” and a “big scandal”, which she claimed Saakashvili’s entourage would “try to hide” and “portray as insignificant”.
She also alleged Saakashvili had acted “against his own country and people” both in office and following his term as President, adding the disclosures had “confirmed” he had “paid money to damage state interests by imposition of international sanctions”.
Thank God Saakashvili has failed to achieve this goal”, Tsulukiani said, adding the Government was expecting “explanations over this big scandal”, efforts of which she said had been directed “against the country, and not only the Government”.
Tsulukiani also said the information on the activities of the lobbyist firm had been made available thanks to the US’ Foreign Agents Registration Act, after a bill for a similar law was retracted by Georgia’s ruling party in May after mass protests against it.
She said the bill had been labelled a “Russian law” by domestic organisations and the international community before its withdrawal by the ruling party, which she called a “missed opportunity”.
Georgia’s Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Monday rejected reports by several domestic media outlets that said his meeting with ambassadors of the European Union and Sweden earlier during the day had concerned the transfer of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili abroad on health grounds.
Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Sunday said the “wish” of the Georgian Government to ensure “good health” of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili was “not reciprocated” in the actions of the former official.
A disclosure of the law firm Akerman with the United States Justice Department has shown it received $917,177 from the family of the imprisoned former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili for the purpose of lobbying US Government officials to help free the former official.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, on Wednesday claimed the legal team of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s was working to “create impressions damaging the country's reputation” internationally, after the latest disclosure on the United States Department of Justice’s website of activities of a lobbying firm associated with the former official’s lawyers.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday said it was “shameful” that “simulant” imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili had been paying “millions of dollars” to damage the country’s reputation,after the latest disclosure on the United States Department of Justice’s website of activities of a lobbying firm associated with the former official’s lawyers.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party in the Parliament, on Thursday claimed the latest disclosures on the activities of the United States-based law firm lobbying for the release of the imprisoned former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili had “fully exposed” the “hostility” of the former official, the United National Movement opposition party and “their handlers” to “national interests” and Georgia’s European integration.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday alleged the existence of an international campaign “orchestrated and funded” for the purpose of promoting and lobbying for interests of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili, following the latest disclosure on the United States Department of Justice’s website of activities of a lobbying firm associated with the former official’s lawyers.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, on Friday said the alliance of the opposition United National Movement and Strategy Aghmashenebeli parties, promoted on Thursday as having created a “victory platform”, as a “mere marketing idea”.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, and Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's European Union Integration Committee, on Monday criticised the alleged involvement of Giorgi Margvelashvili, a former President of the country, in a lobbying effort for raising the topic of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili in international media.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the Georgian Dream ruling party in the Parliament, on Tuesday claimed opposition leader Mamuka Khazaradze and his party Lelo for Georgia were “lobbying against the country’s interests”.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Georgian Parliament Speaker, on Thursday said disclosures of the United States-based firms with the country’s Department of Justice as part of the Foreign Agents Registration Act had “shed light on the extent of political corruption against Georgia” by lobbyists hired by the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili and affiliated groups.
The For Georgia opposition party on Thursday called on the country's Government to transfer Mikheil Saakashvili, the imprisoned former President, from the civilian clinic in Tbilisi where he has been receiving treatment since May 2022 back to prison detention "at least" after the New Year’s Eve holidays.