Georgian Parliament Speaker says Georgia will prevail in ECHR if UK fails to ensure fair justice over BBC case

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said Georgia would prevail in its complaint against the BBC, including at the European Court of Human Rights if necessary, citing past victories in similar cases.

“Experience shows that wherever the Georgian state and the current Government, through their institutions, have faced Europeans in Strasbourg, we have won. The same will happen here if Britain itself fails to ensure fair justice”, he noted.

The Speaker was responding to a question about the European Parliament’s appeal to the European Commission to take a closer interest in allegations that protesters in Georgia were allegedly poisoned with chemical substances during last year’s demonstrations, and whether this indicated that the Georgian authorities had failed to convince the West that no banned substances were used.

Papuashvili highlighted that the sole reason for such appeals was the absence in the EU of a system similar to the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

“We don’t know who receives what funding, even though we know money circulates in the European Parliament. We have seen footage and evidence of money influencing decisions at the level of vice-speakers. Therefore, I have no trust in these individuals to raise issues without political motives”, he said.

The Speaker added that recent corruption scandals in the European Parliament fueled suspicions that such statements may also be driven by corrupt arrangements.

“A lot of time has passed. We did our part. An investigation was conducted, all questions were answered, and we publicly stated that if any relevant foreign organisation has an interest, they are welcome to review the investigation materials in detail. I even said, ironically, that we would buy them a ticket. How many contacted the Prosecutor’s Office or the Government? None”, Papuashvili said.

“If they come, open the files, and see everything, they would then have to admit that they spread disinformation, slandered the Georgian people, and invented stories about World War I-era chemical weapons. It takes a truly Goebbels-like mind to fabricate such massive lies and then claim that no one would lie on such a scale”, he continued.

Papuashvili further commented on the ongoing legal process against the BBC.

“As you know, we have filed a lawsuit against the BBC. If the British justice system fails to deal with such vile slander against an entire state and tolerates it, we will take the case against Britain to the Strasbourg court. Experience tells us that wherever Georgia has faced Europeans in Strasbourg, we have won - and we will win again if Britain cannot ensure fair justice”, he concluded.

The complaint, filed by the ruling party Georgian Dream, demands that the BBC remove the material from relevant platforms and issue an apology.

The case concerns a BBC-produced documentary that accused the Georgian authorities of using a World War I-era banned chemical weapon, “Camite”, against demonstrators.

Georgia’s State Security Service has stated that the toxic substance “Camite” was not used by the Interior Ministry to disperse protests and that Georgia has never acquired such a substance.