PM Garibashvili criticizes MEPs for calls about Saakashvili’s release
By Khatia Bzhalava
Friday, October 22
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has criticized MEP Raphael Glucksmann, a signatory of a joint letter stressing that the ‘judiciary is biased’ in Georgia and demanding ex-president Saakashvili’s release.
According to Garibashvili, MEP Glucksmann is a close friend of Saakashvili and was also a husband of Ekaterine Zguladze, former deputy interior minister under Saakashvili’s UNM government.
“MEP Glucksmann is giving us clever pieces of advice about Georgia every day, I would like to ask people – should I be interested in his advice?” stated the PM yesterday, adding that neither Saakashvili nor anyone from his close circle, will be able to regain power in the country.
The PM also responded to another statement of MEPs calling for Saakashvili’s release while the European Court of Human Rights is considering his case. MEPs Andrius Kubilius, Rasa Jukneviciene, Riho Terras, Miriam Lexmann, and Sandra Kalniete noted in the statement that the fact that the leader of the opposition and former President is in jail, ‘raises the question about political nature of the persecution’. According to them, PM Garibashvili’s comments “only confirm political motives” behind Saakashvili’s case.
Garibashvili told the reporters that neither MEP Fotyga nor Kubilius can tell the government what to do, as they ‘do not hold any value for the country’. The PM underlined that no one can stand against the rule of law or justice in the country.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell told reporters yesterday that MEPs who signed the letter play an important role in the work of the European Parliament and the EU's foreign policy, as well as in relation to Georgia and the Eastern Partnership countries. The ambassador refused to assess the contents of the letter or the statements of the PM.
According to Hartzell, Saakashvili’s case must be considered transparently within the framework of the rule of law. He also stressed that the EU is following the case closely and expects fair and due judicial process.
