Tbilisi mayor: Georgian people can distinguish friend from foe, human rights ‘protected at high-level’

Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has defended Georgia’s human rights record, saying the Georgian public “knows who genuinely supports the country and who does not.”

His remarks came ahead of a UN report on human rights in Georgia, which will be presented by Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze.

Kaladze downplayed the significance of sanctions imposed on Darakhvelidze by several foreign governments for violating human rights during anti-governmental protests last year, describing them as politically motivated and lacking factual basis.

“We know how these sanctions were imposed. They were purely political; none of them are substantively justified. There is no reason why anyone in Georgia should have been sanctioned. The public can see clearly who acts against or for our country,” he said.

The mayor also highlighted that foreign actors had not publicly condemned violent incidents in Georgia and stressed that the Georgian people were fully aware of the reality of international attitudes toward the country.

Defending Georgia’s human rights situation, Kaladze said freedom of speech and expression were protected “at a high level today,” contrasting this with the period before 2012 under previous authorities.

“Anyone genuinely committed to our country can confirm that claims Georgia has fallen back in terms of democracy are false. People experience the difference in their own lives and families,” he added.