Free movement of wanted former UNM officials in Europe “disturbing” - Georgian PM

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday called the free movement of wanted former officials of the United National Movement Government, including former Defence Minister David Kezerashvili and former Prosecutor General Zurab Adeishvili, in Europe “disturbing”.

In his comments to the media, Kobakhidze noted these individuals were convicted of “severe crimes”, adding there was “a serious, well-founded suspicion” that “specific individuals among them” were still committing “serious crimes” against the European Union citizens.

He cited the reports by British public broadcaster BBC, which revealed its investigation into a fraudulent “call centre” scheme, a global network of a scam operation targeting customers, with the involvement of Kezerashvili.

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When Adeishvili, who committed many heinous crimes, meets with officials in the EU or in Berlin, it’s absolutely concerning”, the PM added, pointing out that the Georgian people were closely observing these developments, “raising serious doubts about the European bureaucracy's dedication to upholding the principles of justice and the rule of law”. He added that such visits should be halted.

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Kobakhidze also said that Georgian society had “already passed the verdict” to the UNM, including for “their crimes committed in the 2008 war with Russia”. He stressed the UNM had “falsely accused the Georgian army of war crimes”, citing the signing of the European Council resolution by former President Mikheil Saakashvili, in which the Georgian military was accused of war crimes and using cluster bombs.

The Head of the Government highlighted that the Georgian Dream Government had won two important cases, one in the International Court of Justice and the other in the European Court of Human Rights, against Russia, which accused Georgia’s military of committing war crimes and violating human rights.

We did our best to ensure that our military personnel were properly assessed in both cases. We defended this position and the dignity of the Georgian army. However, if the previous government had been in power at the time of the [two] trials, I am sure the outcome would have been completely different”, he noted.

Kobakhidze also slammed the UNM for spending thousands of dollars on an “absurd campaign” about poverty in Georgia, instead of helping “even a few families” in overcoming poverty. Speculation on this topic by the UNM is “absolutely unacceptable”, the PM stressed, noting the previous Government had left 1,150,000 people below the poverty line.