The Daily Beat: 16 October
The Constitutional Court concluded that President Salome Zurabishvili violated the Constitution of Georgia by conducting foreign visits to European capitals without the government’s approval. The court’s conclusion will be submitted to the parliament, paving the way for an impeachment vote. According to the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Merab Turava, the decision was supported by six out of nine judges, with three dissenting opinions.
Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobakhidze, claimed that President Zurabishvili has repeatedly, intentionally, and blatantly violated the constitution, citing the court’s ruling and calling on her to resign. “Salome Zurabishvili has betrayed the Constitution of Georgia and the oath she took on the Constitution of Georgia,” said Irakli Kobakhidze at a press briefing, shaming and blaming her for staying in office. Other Georgian Dream MPs keep repeating Kobakhidze’s arguments, publicly requesting the President’s resignation.
Later in the evening, President Salome Zurabishvili made a public address, describing the decision of the Constitutional Court as “damaging” for the country’s democracy but expected. In her speech, Zurabishvili said that the Constitutional Court should be ashamed of this decision, as should each judge who signed it. She also claimed that the President is the only remaining independent institution in the country, pledging not to resign and to continue fighting for the country’s European future.
The ruling Georgian Dream party delegation skipped the landmark PACE sessions, which adopted important resolutions on Ukraine and Russia. One PACE resolution recognized Holodomor as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people, while another PACE resolution focused on declaring Russia a dictatorship and Putin’s rule illegitimate. Apparently, only one, a representative of the tiny opposition party “Citizens” Ketevan Turazashvili from the five-member Georgian delegation to PACE, attended the voting and supported the resolutions.
Iran’s Ambassador to Georgia, Mahmoud Adib, denounced the Israeli Ambassador’s speech in the Parliament regarding the recent Hamas attack on Israel, calling on the Georgian authorities to side with Palestine and requesting an equal opportunity to speak before the Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee. On 12 October, Israeli Ambassador to Georgia, Hadas Meitzad, addressed the Foreign Relations Committee, speaking of recent tragic events in Israel and highlighting Iran’s supportive role in Hamas terrorist attack, claiming the lives of 1300 people.
Recently, the country was shocked by the murder of 14-year-old girl Aitaj Shakhmarova, who was kidnapped into a forced marriage and brutally murdered by a captor for an attempted escape. The man accused of murder was arrested and sentenced to two months’ pre-trial detention. The mother and uncle of the 14-year-old victim, as well as relatives of the person accused of murder, are also arrested for forcing the minor into marriage and failing to report the crime. The prosecutor’s Office pledged to apply the strictest criminal policy in such cases and punish all the perpetrators of this terrible crime to the fullest extent of the law.
