Disputes over pardoning law enforcers exacerbate political conflict in Georgia

The law enforcers who took part in the harsh dispersal of a rally in Tbilisi in June 2019 should be pardoned only with the consent of victims of their actions, the Georgian opposition states. During the rallies, people suffered both from the police actions and from the actions of the opposition, MPs from the ruling “Georgian Dream” Party argue.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 19, members of some Georgian oppositional parties and the ruling "Georgian Dream" Party came to an agreement to resolve the political crisis in the country, which includes, among other things, an amnesty for political prisoners and the holding of parliamentary elections. On April 24, about a dozen activists protested in front of the Georgian Parliament, demanding from the authorities not to pardon the law enforcers, who had taken part in the violent dispersal of the rally against the visit of Sergey Gavrilov, a Russian State Duma MP, in June 2019.

The Georgian authorities and the opposition have prepared two versions of the bill “On Amnesty”. The main difference in the versions concerns the consent of the victims to pardoning of their offenders, says Giorgi Vashadze, an MP from the opposition “Agmashenebeli Strategy” Party.

The point that the consent of the victims is necessary for pardoning is unacceptable for the Georgian authorities. “The consent of the victims can be a topic of speculation. When it comes to the [Nika] Meliya’s fault, there are many victims. It all started after the Nika Meliya’s call for an assault, and everyone affected by the situation suffered because of the Nika Meliya’s fault. We cannot give room for new speculations by demanding the consent of a victim,” said Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of the “Georgian Dream” Party, as quoted by the “Civil.ge” on April 27.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 28, 2021 at 06:55 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.