Georgia’s ruling party official rejects US Embassy’s concerns: freedom of speech must not be confused with public insult

Levan Machavariani, the First Deputy Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party faction in the Parliament, on Tuesday responded to the US Embassy’s statement expressing concern over the Georgian Government’s Hate Speech Monitoring Unit, saying that there is a significant difference between freedom of speech and public insult.

“I am confident that whoever made this statement at the Embassy is either unfamiliar with the issue or was asked the question in such a way that they were deliberately misled”, he said.

“There is a significant difference between freedom of speech and insult, and the US Embassy should be well aware of that. In every case where the court imposed a fine, there was clear evidence of shocking public insults directed by one individual at another in the public sphere, which is completely unacceptable. I am confident that the current US administration should also find such behavior unacceptable”, Machavariani concluded.

In response to a question from Radio Free Europe, the US Embassy stated that it is concerned about the Georgian Government’s Hate Speech Monitoring Unit.