“They are looking for reasons to shut down non-governmental organizations and leave citizens alone, without help, in the face of lawlessness and oppression,” said Eka Gigauri, Executive Secretary of Transparency International – Georgia, during an appearance on PalitraNews’ program “Free Studio,” discussing the ongoing investigation into the so-called sabotage case.
In response to a question about whether representatives of non-governmental organizations could soon join the existing prisoners, Gigauri stated that nothing can be ruled out, and they are prepared for anything.
“The goal is exactly this: they are looking for reasons to stop non-governmental organizations. I still believe that the primary issue for them is the legal assistance we provide to citizens. That’s their main target – to leave citizens alone in the face of lawlessness and oppression, without help.
Nothing is ruled out; we expect anything. There’s no point in legally assessing these cases – they are completely unlawful, just like the cases involving prisoners of conscience. There’s nothing in the ongoing investigations either – no legal evidence whatsoever,” Gigauri noted.
When asked whether discussions with foreign representatives involve calls for changing the “Georgian Dream” government, as claimed by the ruling team, Gigauri responded that changing Georgia’s government is a decision for the Georgian people.
“Changing the ‘Georgian Dream’ government is a decision for the Georgian people; it’s no one else’s business but the Georgian people’s. That’s exactly why we demand fair elections. Fair elections are necessary so that the Georgian people can make their decision. The key is to have independent institutions here, to hold fair elections, and through fair elections, if the Georgian people decide, the government can be changed. But what ‘Georgian Dream’ is doing is precisely to seize institutions and prevent the Georgian people from making that decision in a free environment.
This is exactly what ‘Georgian Dream’s’ policy is aimed at – ensuring that fair elections cannot be held here and that no one can speak out about it. That’s why they target the media and the non-governmental sector, especially observer organizations, so that, in addition to rigging elections and having all institutions serve them, no one can talk about it either,” Gigauri stated.
Regarding the protest planned for October 4, Gigauri said she does not know the details of the event.
“This is an event announced by politicians, and to be honest, I don’t know the details beyond the fact that something is happening on the 4th, as these people are saying. I don’t know where I’ll be, but I’ll definitely be in Georgia. Let’s see how events unfold, but the main thing is that everything is in the hands of the Georgian people. It’s also up to the Georgian people to decide whether we want a visa-free regime. It’s ‘Georgian Dream’s’ decision to cancel the visa-free regime for our citizens, and it depends on how much the Georgian people will tolerate this or express their opinion on it,” she noted.
Gigauri also addressed the verdicts issued this week regarding individuals detained during protest actions.
“I remember when ten non-governmental organization leaders stood in front of the court when Murusidze was appointed for life. Back then, we spread the word that we were planning a protest there, and we went with posters, but there were only ten of us. We knew exactly that this decision was problematic because that man could not be allowed to remain in the judicial system. It was the same when Chinchaladze was appointed, who was also a very influential judge under the previous government.
Today, it’s a very sad reality that this has affected so many people, but we’ve always spoken out about it from our side. Of course, there should have been more reaction back then, but there was a reason for that too – it didn’t affect people on such a massive scale back then. However, they haven’t changed; they were like this before, during the previous government, and they are like this now. Now, on top of everything, they are involved in corruption, they’ve enriched themselves, and they’re protecting their wealth along with everything else.
I believe that the time will come in this country when all these judges will be held accountable for the pain they’re causing and for every decision they make,” Gigauri stated.
Eka Gigauri on the so-called “sabotage case”: They are looking for a reason to stop NGOs and leave citizens without assistance, alone in the face of illegality and oppression – even our arrest is not excluded, we are expecting anything
