Georgian Parliament Speaker slams “double standards” in labeling protesters in Berlin and Tbilisi

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday accused Western actors of applying a double standard in how acts of violence were judged in different countries, drawing a parallel between incidents in Berlin and Tbilisi from December of last year.

Papuashvili published a social media message comparing two videos - one from Berlin and one from Tbilisi.

“The video on the left shows Berlin, December of last year. The man who threw fireworks at a residential building spent four months in pre-trial detention. German prosecutors sought a two-year prison sentence. Yesterday, a German court gave him a six-month suspended sentence due to lack of evidence of intent. The prosecution has appealed the verdict”, the Speaker said.

“The video on the right shows Tbilisi, also from last December. What utter shamelessness - calling someone a violent offender in Berlin while labeling the same kind of individual a 'peaceful protester' in Tbilisi”, he concluded.