Parliament Speaker alleges “orchestrated and funded” int’l campaign on Saakashvili
In his remarks over the matter, Papuashvili said the information had become known through the Foreign Agents Registration Act in the United States, and pointed out a similar draft law in Georgia had been branded “Russian law” by the domestic opposition and the country’s Western partners after its proposal in March, and its eventual retraction due to public protests. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
Tweet 
Share
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.
Published on Tuesday, the new information revealed the lobbying company Akerman had been involved in drawing up a draft resolution for the European Parliament 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 to pursue sanctions against Georgia over his alleged ill-treatment in detention.
In his remarks over the matter, Papuashvili said the information had become known through the Foreign Agents Registration Act in the United States, and pointed out a similar draft law in Georgia had been branded “Russian law” by the domestic opposition and the country’s Western partners after its proposal in March, and its eventual retraction due to public protests.
In general, it confirmed what we were talking about - that this entire campaign related to Mikheil Saakashvili, sometimes with the slogan of ‘Free Misha’, sometimes with the slogan of humanitarian transfer somewhere [abroad for continued medical treatment of Saakashvili], sometimes [with claims] about [his] torture [in detention], sometimes about poisoning - was an orchestrated and funded campaign”, he said.
“We have seen the ugliest side of what can be called politics - when you can bribe the media, politicians, tell them what you want, [and] spread misinformation”, Papuashvili added.
We saw the commissioned articles [arguing the points of Saakashvili’s supporters]; we saw that [European Parliament] resolutions - which we were told were ideas of some MEPs with a special sympathy for Mikheil Saakashvili, ideas that [supposedly] originated and developed in the heart of Europe - turned out to be [products of] lobbyists from America writing the drafts of these resolutions. We also saw that there was constant communication between the lobbyists and MEPs”, the Parliament Speaker also claimed.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party in the Parliament, on Thursday said the latest disclosures on the activities of the law firm 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.
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.
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.
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.
Medical professional from a visiting group of Polish doctors assessing the treatment offered by the staff of the Tbilisi’s Vivamedi clinic where the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili is receiving treatment attempted to sneak a sample taken from the former official through his shoe, the Special Penitentiary Service said on Friday.
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.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday alleged Giorgi Margvelashvili, a former President of the country, had “accused” the state and its penitentiary service of “torturing” the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili in detention in an “unfortunate” development.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday claimed the latest disclosures on the United States Department of Justice’s website had “directly revealed” the United National Movement opposition party in Georgia was “paying money for [achieving a] sanctioning [of] the country”, and called the development “simply a disaster”.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said the documents published on the website of the United States Department of Justice had revealed Evan Elliot, an employee of the United States Embassy in Tbilisi, had been contacted by lobbyists of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday alleged a “Russian-style disinformation campaign” was being used to “discredit the Georgian state” and “blackmail” for release of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili from detention.