Georgian Parliament Speaker slams French Ambassador for “indifference to harassment”

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday criticized French Ambassador to Georgia, Sheraz Gasri, for allegedly turning a blind eye to what he described as acts of intimidation and harassment.

In a social media post, Papuashvili accused the ambassador of “indifference,” claiming it had allowed a journalist from Georgia’s Public Broadcaster (GPB) to become the latest target of contempt.

He linked the incident to a previous case involving Baia Pataraia, head of the NGO Sapari, who allegedly used derogatory language toward Georgia’s Foreign Minister. According to Papuashvili, the ambassador – who he claimed supports Pataraia – refused to clarify her stance at the time.

“Such contempt is not just an expression of the damaged emotional state of an individual radical activist. It has a specific goal – to intimidate, harass, and suppress the journalist who has been targeted,” he wrote.

Papuashvili challenged Gasri to take a stand, asking whether she would “call on the person she supports to refrain from degrading behavior” or “blindly encourage a new act of contempt.”

The controversy comes after Pataraia, in a social media post on Wednesday, criticized journalist Diana Trapaidze for congratulating GPB journalist Tamta Sanikidze on her birthday, referring to Sanikidze as a “propagandist.”