According to Nino Doladze, the former head of “Fair Elections,” during her questioning before a magistrate judge in the so-called sabotage case, the questions primarily concerned protest actions and potential violence.
As Nino Doladze told journalists after the questioning, her response was that the activities of “Fair Elections” were in line with Georgian legislation.
“The questions mainly related to the conduct of the protests, particularly those in the spring of last year, as well as those in November-December. They were interested in whether the organization was involved in organizing these protests, whether it had any connection to violence, and so on. Naturally, there were also questions about procurements. My response, of course, was the truth—that since its establishment, ‘Fair Elections’ has been protecting democracy and human rights in the country. What we did at these protests, whether it was monitoring, providing legal assistance, or otherwise, was entirely within the scope of our activities, Georgian legislation, and aimed at protecting Georgia’s European, democratic future,” Doladze stated.
Regarding the seizure of the accounts of non-governmental organization representatives, Nino Doladze assessed it as pressure and persecution of the third sector.
“My assessment of the seizure remains the same: it is pressure and persecution of civil society organizations because they will be unable to continue functioning, which is very bad for the country,” Doladze stated.
For reference, on August 27, the Prosecutor’s Office released information stating that the Tbilisi City Court granted the prosecution’s motion to seize the bank accounts of the following organizations: “International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy,” “Institute for Development of Freedom of Information,” “Defenders of Democracy,” “Georgia’s Democratic Initiative,” “Safary,” and “Social Justice Center.”
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the case concerns an ongoing investigation into sabotage, attempted sabotage under aggravating circumstances, assisting a foreign organization or an organization under foreign control in hostile activities, and mobilizing finances for activities aimed against Georgia’s constitutional order and national security.
Later, the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office summoned the heads of certain non-governmental organizations for questioning as witnesses. As stated in the Prosecutor’s Office’s announcement, the case involves the seizure of the bank accounts of 12 legal entities – funds and non-governmental organizations – thereby restricting the further misuse of funds.
According to Nino Doladze, the former head of “Fair Elections,” during her questioning before a magistrate judge in the so-called sabotage case, the questions primarily concerned protest actions and potential violence
