Opposition Coalition for Change representative: BBC does not intend to respond favourably to Georgian Dream’s statement

BBC management does not intend to respond to the statement issued by the Georgian Dream in a manner satisfactory to the ruling party and, on the contrary, plans to present additional evidence, said on Monday Teimuraz Papaskiri, a representative of the opposition Coalition for Change.

In his remarks, Papaskiri noted that it was clear that some type of prohibited chemical substance was used, and whether it was “Camite” or an even more severe substance would be determined by the investigation.

He further added that the documentary prepared by the BBC contained specific evidence and that Georgian Dream’s appeal to the BBC’s internal regulator was meaningless.

“This is neither the initiation nor the opening of a legal case. If the Georgian Dream believes the information is inaccurate, politically biased, or false, they should go to court. There is no procedure involving appeals to a regulator or discussions with BBC’s internal representatives. The film produced by the BBC contains concrete evidence. BBC management has confirmed that it does not intend to respond to the Georgian Dream’s statement in a way satisfactory to the party - on the contrary, as far as I know, they plan to present new evidence”, Papaskiri said.

He added that once the case reached court - which was precisely why the Georgian Dream was avoiding legal action - the ruling party would be required to allow an international investigation and present evidence.

“The so-called evidence they have released means nothing and has no value. It is clear that a prohibited chemical substance was used. Whether it was “Camite” or something even worse will be determined by the investigation. Such an investigation has no statute of limitations and can be conducted at any time”, Papaskiri concluded.