The Daily Beat: 12 September

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee discussed developments in Georgia following the adoption of the Law on Foreign Agents as part of its September 12 full committee hearing on global anti-democratic trends. The hearing on “Anti-NGO Laws and Other Tools of Democratic Repression” featured testimony from Eka Gigauri, head of Transparency International Georgia, an anti-corruption watchdog, and two other testimonies from representatives of Washington-based human rights groups.

In an interview with the Georgian Service of Voice of America, Amb. Michael R. Carpenter, Special Advisor to President Joe Biden and Senior Director for Europe at the U.S. National Security Council, expressed deep concern about political developments in Georgia. Highlighting the upcoming parliamentary elections as a critical test for the country’s democratic future, Carpenter warned that the misuse of administrative resources and pressure on civil society and opposition figures could severely hamper Georgia’s democratic development.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova repeated the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service’s (SVR) accusations that the U.S. is planning to “interfere” in Georgia’s elections using the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and accused ODIHR of planning to “heat up the situation in Georgia before the elections.” As an alternative, she spoke of the practice of “sending Russian observers to the ODIHR missions at the request of friendly countries.”

Responding to the question about Russian foreign intelligence’s claims on possible U.S. interference in the October parliamentary elections, Speaker Shalva Papuashvili called on the intelligence services of both countries to stay aside from Georgia. “Russian and the U.S. intelligence services should arrange this between themselves. We will be grateful if neither of them interferes in our elections,” Papuashvili said.

During her video address to the fourth Crimea Platform Summit on September 11, President Salome Zurabishvili reiterated the Georgian people’s support for Ukraine. She drew parallels between Russia’s ongoing aggression and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. “Restoring Ukraine’s full territorial integrity is a critical step in securing peace and stability as Russia needs to learn to respect borders – not just in Ukraine but also in Georgia, Moldova, and the rest of Europe,” the President said.

On September 12, the Communications Commission (ComCom) fined the opposition-leaning Mtavari TV GEL 5,000 (about USD 1,800) for not broadcasting political ad from the ruling Georgian Dream party, a day after ComCom issued a protocol of administrative violations against the station. Mtavari TV says it will appeal ComCom’s decision to the Court of Appeal.

On September 12, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights opened an election observation mission for the upcoming Parliamentary elections in Georgia, according to the official press release found on the OSCE’s website. The OSCE/ODIHR mission comes amid Russia’s repeated attacks against the U.S. and the OSCE/ODIHR, accusing them of colluding to “interfere” in Georgia’s upcoming Parliamentary elections against the ruling Georgian Dream party.

On September 12, Tbilisi City Court Judge Nino Enukidze fined Irakli Nadiradze, a member of the Tbilisi City Council (Sakrebulo) from the opposition United National Movement, GEL 2,500 (approximately USD 928), finding him guilty of petty hooliganism and non-compliance with a lawful police order. Irakli Nadiradze was arrested on September 4 along with another UNM Sakrebulo member, Irakli Edzgveradze, for interfering with police investigation activities.