Georgian PM says disrespecting parliamentary inquiry sanctioned in any country

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday emphasised the importance of parliamentary investigations, stating that disrespect toward a parliamentary inquiry commission was met with appropriate sanctions in any democratic nation.

In his remarks, Kobakhidze noted that these sanctions were often much stricter in other countries than in Georgia.

“Parliamentary investigations are a key mechanism. Disrespecting a parliamentary investigative commission triggers appropriate legal consequences in any state governed by the rule of law. In many countries, such sanctions are far stricter than what we apply in Georgia. Here, the maximum punishment is up to one year of imprisonment”, Kobakhidze said.

“Refusing to appear before an investigative commission is a serious legal offence by its nature and is therefore subject to criminal classification”, the PM continued.

Kobakhidze further claimed that the deep state was not at all concerned about the fate of its agents in the country.

“The deep state does not care about the fate of its agents. In fact, they sometimes even prefer to have their agents imprisoned. This is a very tragic and unfortunate reality”, he concluded.