Ruling party Secretary, Parliament Committee Chair criticise former President’s involvement in Saakashvili lobbying

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.

Their comments followed the latest disclosures on the United States Department of Justice’s website, which revealed the media company Cision PR Newswire had received $11,500 on behalf of Saakashvili for including a reference to Margvelashvili as a part of a “coalition whose efforts are to save the life of the former president, Saakashvili” in a press-release intended to be picked up by international media outlets.

In his response, Mdinaradze alleged the money had been spent on an “underhanded lie by Margvelashvili and its distribution in international media”, and added “this amount was only for the spread of one fake, [so] you can imagine how much money the entire campaign needs”.

In her comments, Botchorishvili said it “must be embarrassing” for Margvelashvili to “[appear concerned] about the former President only in exchange for material benefits”.

During these years, politicians who were worried about Mikheil Saakashvili's health and talked about his so-called humanitarian needs [were] all part of the lobbying [...] campaign that was conducted, and that is clear to the public. A lot of money was paid for this”, Botchorishvili claimed.

Margvelashvili responded to the allegations by saying “when dirty lies and misinformation begin, it is not my purpose to comment in depth and with seriousness”.