Co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Georgia have expressed serious concern about pressure on the opposition, the media and civil activists in the country. A statement by Edite Estrela (Portugal) and Sabina Ćudić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) is being circulated by the PACE press service, UNN reports.
PACE condemned the summons of journalists and civil activists to court for "insults" on social media, as well as the persecution of opposition politicians who refused to participate in the work of the parliamentary commission, which is aimed at banning the opposition as such.
Repression only exacerbates the political crisis in the country and distances Georgia from fulfilling its obligations to the Council of Europe
PACE called on the Georgian authorities to stop putting pressure on dissidents and declared their readiness for dialogue with all political forces to help fulfill international obligations.
They emphasized that Georgia remains one of the ten countries under full PACE monitoring – the strictest format for monitoring the state's fulfillment of its obligations to the Council of Europe. It is usually applied to countries where there are systemic problems with democracy, the rule of law or human rights. This format includes regular visits by rapporteurs who conduct a dialogue with the authorities, as well as periodic plenary debates to ensure a full assessment of the state's progress and problems.