“I don’t want my future to be determined by someone who was torturing people in prison”: Georgian Public Defender says party bans in Georgia not unique, seen in Germany, Spain, Turkey

Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani on Friday addressed a forthcoming Constitutional Court lawsuit on banning some political parties, asserting that such measures were not unprecedented, citing examples in Germany, Spain, and Turkey.

In his remarks, Ioseliani emphasised that individuals or parties involved in human rights violations should be excluded from shaping Georgia’s political future.

“People who participated in the systematic violation of human rights, or who justified such actions, I do not want to see them in politics. I do not want my future to be determined by someone who was torturing people in prison yesterday. Georgia will not be the first case where this [party ban] happens. It has occurred in Germany, Spain, and Turkey as well”, he said.

The Public Defender stressed that the Constitutional Court must carefully consider the lawsuit, and if its decision lacks justification, the European Court of Human Rights would likely intervene.

“The court must make a decision on this matter. If the court’s decision is unjustified, I am confident that the European Court of Human Rights will issue a different opinion on the matter. This is not an issue that will remain unresolved in the end. Let us wait for this process”, he noted.

He clarified that his stance was not personal but rooted in opposition to parties or individuals with a history of human rights abuses holding political power.

“I personally have no objection to any individual, but people or parties that have violated or are violating human rights, in my opinion, should not be teaching us wisdom, determining our future, or making political decisions”, Ioseliani concluded.

Irakli Kirtskhalia, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party faction in the legislative body, on Monday announced that the ruling team would file a lawsuit prepared based on the conclusion of the Parliament’s Temporary Investigative Commission, examining crimes committed by the former United National Movement Government between 2003 and 2012, with the Constitutional Court in the near future.