Prepared by Messenger Staff
Zourabichvili Warns of 'Final Stage of Finalising Dictatorship' After Suspected Suicide Attempt by Former Adjara Leader
Georgia's fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, issued a stark warning on July 7, saying the country is facing total lawlessness after the suspected suicide attempt of former Adjara government head Tornike Rizhvadze.
"Today, everyone in this country is in danger! No one is protected!" Zourabichvili wrote in a statement. "The detention of former high-ranking officials, threats of violence or allegedly driving someone to suicide, and the demonstrative racketeering of well-known businessmen mean one thing: the state is destroyed!"
Her comments came hours after the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that Rizhvadze had been hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was first taken to a hospital in Sagarejo and later transferred to the First University Clinic in Tbilisi. Doctors say he suffered a lung injury and remains in stable but serious condition.
The Interior Ministry announced an investigation under Article 115 of the Criminal Code, which deals with incitement to suicide.
Zourabichvili described the current political climate as "the classic final stage of a dictatorship" and accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of ruling through fear and repression.
"There is complete lawlessness in the country," she wrote. "Those who call themselves the 'ruling party' have taken everything into their own hands. They think they can deceive the people with scripted scenarios and fabricated tales. Meanwhile, behind the curtain of this illusory reality, the country has been dragged back into a mafia-criminal space."
She also claimed that the government's methods resembled those used by the Kremlin. "The Russian trace is evident in all of this. These methods, this lawlessness, this false reality, and a regime devoid of human dignity. Rejecting democracy and a European future logically leads to this mafia-like 'governance.'"
Here is a clear, structured half-page news article based on the statements by Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili. The tone remains factual, with quotes properly attributed and context added where needed:
Papuashvili Accuses EU-Funded Groups of Plotting to Sabotage Local Elections
Speaker of Georgian Dream led Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili accused EU-funded civil society organizations of planning to disrupt Georgia's upcoming local self-government elections, claiming their actions amount to a violation of international law and pose a threat to the country's sovereignty.
"Organizations funded by the EU Embassy are preparing to disrupt the local self-government elections - this is a fact," Papuashvili told journalists. "We must speak out about this loudly."
According to him, the groups in question are allegedly operating with the approval of the European Union's ambassador to Georgia and are already working to interfere in the election process.
"EU budget funds are being spent in Georgia toward sabotaging these elections," Papuashvili claimed. "Last year, before the elections, we tried to be considerate - to somehow be lenient or spare some of our foreign ambassadors or politicians - and we now see what that resulted in. Afterward, they interfered even more blatantly in our elections."
He added that this time, Georgian Dream would speak out "loudly" and name both the organizations and their foreign sponsors if such interference continues.
"Full responsibility will lie with the donors," he said. "In every case, we will speak out loudly and expose both the organizations and the donors - because this constitutes a violation of international law."
Papuashvili framed the remarks as part of a broader effort by Georgian Dream to "protect the European Union's reputation," which he claimed is being damaged by "Brussels bureaucracy" and inconsistent actions from EU-linked donors.
"Our mission is to ensure that the EU does not violate international law. This is also the will of our people - to preserve the reputation of the European Union, which Brussels bureaucracy is damaging," he said. "We must not allow Brussels bureaucrats or certain donors to undermine the EU's reputation and the European values they so often talk about in words but violate in practice."
