Georgian Prime Minister accuses BBC of bias, says report omitted Government’s complete answers

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Saturday sharply criticised a recent BBC report, calling it a “clear demonstration of extreme political bias”.

Speaking at a briefing held at the Government Administration, Kobakhidze said the authors of the report ignored the positions of the ruling political team and withheld complete answers that had been provided to the broadcaster’s questions in advance.

According to the Prime Minister, the report contained “multiple anti-state accusations”.

“Among other anti-state allegations, the report claims - presented as fact - that the elections were rigged, despite there being no evidence to support this. The main international observation mission, which assessed the 2024 parliamentary elections, declared the vote competitive and recognised the Georgian Dream as the elected Government”, Kobakhidze stated.

He further went on to criticise the report for mentioning alleged physical violence against protesters while failing to address what he described as violent actions carried out by “aggressive, foreign-trained groups” against law enforcement.

Kobakhidze said these groups set part of the Parliament building on fire, vandalised public and private property in central Tbilisi, and attacked police officers with Molotov cocktails and life-threatening pyrotechnics.

The Prime Minister also accused the BBC of misrepresenting Giorgi Bachiashvili as a victim of political persecution.

“The crimes committed by Bachiashvili have been confirmed by two court instances. Meanwhile, two additional criminal cases are underway, including one concerning the illegal crossing of Georgia’s border - a charge he himself has publicly acknowledged”, he noted.

Kobakhidze added that the “so-called investigative report”, which he described as “built on falsehoods”, concluded with another “obvious lie” - that the Ministry of Internal Affairs “continues to use water cannons against protesters”.