Georgian Parliament official says ECHR rulings substantiate allegations against former UNM government

Archil Gorduladze, Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, on Tuesday rejected statements made by opposition MP Ana Tsitlidze at the Constitutional Court, describing them as false and arguing that allegations of systematic crimes committed under the previous government are substantiated by rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Gorduladze disputed Tsitlidze’s claim that the ruling team had based its accusations against the former government on testimony from witnesses questioned by a parliamentary commission.

“It is false to claim that we accuse the previous government of committing systematic crimes on the basis of testimony from witnesses questioned by the commission,” he said.

“In fact, we substantiate our allegations of systematic crimes committed by the United National Movement through judgments delivered by the European Court of Human Rights. One example is the court’s ruling in the Ochigava case, in which it stated that torture had been systematic and widespread before 2012,” Gorduladze said.