Georgian foreign office says freedom of assembly, expression “ensured at the highest standard” in response to French Ministry statement

The Georgian foreign office on Friday said freedom of assembly and expression was “ensured at the highest standard” in the country, in response to a statement of the French Foreign Ministry, which on Thursday denounced violence against demonstrators in Tbilisi during rallies against the controversial bill on transparency of foreign influence.

Despite the fact that violent groups affiliated with the political opposition and funded from abroad carried out large-scale violence against the buildings of state institutions and law enforcement bodies, Georgian law enforcement, with the exception of a few unfortunate incidents, acted in accordance with the highest human rights standards”, the Georgian body’s statement said.

The Ministry further claimed the statement of the French office “lacked objectivity”.

We will remind you that the Georgian Government refrained from making a critical statement towards France even when law enforcement in Paris confronted protesters with brutal methods completely incompatible with universal standards of human rights”, the statement noted, without specifying the incident.

The foreign office also claimed “biassed assessments” were “encouraging the violence” in the country.