Chairman Papuashvili Criticizes Zurab Adeishvili's Presence in EU Institutions; German Embassy Responds
By Liza Mchedlidze
Friday, March 8, 2024
Former Minister of Justice of Georgia and former Prosecutor General Zurab Adeishvili, who was convicted in absentia, attended the plenary session of the Bundestag together with the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin. The issue of supplying long-range weapons to Ukraine was discussed at the meeting.
In response to Adeishvili's presence in the German parliament, the Chairman of the Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, criticized the reception and called for an explanation from the German side.
"We observed a certain cynicism when Zurab Adeishvili, most likely to discuss issues of justice, was in the deliberative rooms of the European Union institutions in Brussels, specifically within the European Commission' premises. This is no longer a parliament when we would discuss individual MEPs.
It is unfortunate, and I hope that the EU ambassador will clarify whether it was known whom the representatives of the European Commission were meeting, and after it became known, what they will say to the Georgian people. How they are going to make clarifications in this regard to the Georgian people in the future," Papuashvili stated.
According to Papuashvili, Zurab Adeishvili is the embodiment of everything that is anti-European and anti-human.
"I would like to emphasize that Zurab Adeishvili has been sentenced to a total of 18 years. He is not just a politically sanctioned individual from Georgia but a court-sanctioned individual whose sentence the Georgian people are awaiting," Papuashvili said.
The German Embassy in Georgia responded to the Chairman's criticism regarding Adeishvili's visit to the Bundestag, stating that during the debate on February 22, Adeishvili was on the tribune reserved for guests of the German Bundestag as a member of the Ukrainian ambassador's delegation.
"In Germany, there was no reason based on the principles of the rule of law to prevent him from entering the parliament. This fact has nothing to do with the attitude towards the existing relations between Germany and Georgia. It is known to everyone that the relations between Germany and Georgia are very good," stated the German Embassy.
