Georgian Parliament Speaker accuses EU of attempting to establish hate speech after ECHR ruling

Georgian Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said Georgia has once again managed to defeat Brussels in the European Court of Human Rights, accusing the EU of attempting to establish hate speech within the country.

Papuashvili’s remarks came after the European Court of Human Rights had upheld the position of Georgia’s Ministry of Justice in the case Miladze v. Georgia, confirming that publicly expressed insulting, degrading, and obscene statements directed at public officials fall outside the scope of protection guaranteed by freedom of expression.

In his remarks, Papuashvili emphasised that the recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights has put a “final seal” of approval on the Georgian government’s policies, demonstrating full support for its direction.

“For a certain period now, the Parliament of Georgia has brought legislation into compliance with standards that do not tolerate hate speech, among other things, in a democratic country. Thus, the legislation is at an appropriate level, and it is important that enforcement is also active. I am glad that the ministry of internal affairs decided to take a proactive approach to this issue and create a special unit tasked with eradicating attempts at malice and hostility - which is what the actual purpose of hate speech in Georgia is today”, he said.

“Yesterday's ruling by the ECHR put the final seal of approval on the policy of the Georgian government. This decision shows full support for this policy. It is a good thing that in Strasbourg, Georgia was once again able to defeat Brussels, which was trying to establish hate speech here in Georgia. This is yet another defeat for Brussels against Georgia and further exposure of the fact that hate speech is entirely sown from the outside. You remember, among others, the ambassadors involved in the hate campaign. The German ambassador, who posed against the backdrop of a fascist slogan at one of the meetings, and there has been no reaction to this. This matter is not just a question of aesthetics and emotions; it is a matter of national security to ensure that insults, hate, and loathing are not part of the vocabulary used during public discourse”, the speaker concluded.