Georgian Dream MPs Criticize Public Defender's Report on Rights and Protests
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
During the presentation of the 2024 report to Parliament, Public Defender Levan Ioseliani was sharply questioned by Georgian Dream MPs who accused his office of bias, omissions, and failure to address issues that they believe affect both government officials and the general public.
Vice-Speaker of Parliament Thea Tsulukiani questioned the composition of Ioseliani's team and implied that his staff may be selectively shaping the report's content. "Have you reorganized your office or not, and if not, why not?" she asked. "Are you still working with harmful Lomjaria's staff and are you keeping us in the hope that our rights will be protected by them?"
Tsulukiani went on to criticize specific omissions in the report. "You stated that there is overcrowding in prisons, but you did not mention that during the reporting period, the super modern Laituri prison was opened. When you talk about the rights of demonstrators being violated, you should mention the wounded policeman at least once," she said.
She also expressed frustration that the report failed to mention incidents involving members of Parliament and their families. "Why did you not talk about female deputies and their attacks? When you talked about children, why did you not say anything at least once about Mariam Lashkhi's children? Have you ever asked how Giorgi Kalandarishvili's children were, when their father was smeared with ink live on air?" Tsulukiani continued. "This must be balanced so that we can believe you."
Despite her criticism, she acknowledged Ioseliani's professional background. "You are a person full of dignity, you do not lack professionalism. Perhaps it is the fault of the staff that they selectively cover topics," she said.
First Vice-Speaker Gia Volski also addressed Ioseliani and echoed the concerns raised by Tsulukiani, particularly about the report's framing of protest-related events. "Your statement, assessment of any issue should be such that no one should be able to subject it to objective, well-founded criticism," he said. He suggested that the tensions between police and protesters may have been part of a broader orchestrated scenario. "I think that the scenario was an insidious, conspiratorial plan for the police and protesters to physically confront each other. We saw the statements made by foreign ministries. They arrived and were directly calling for a repetition of the Maidan scenario."
Volski urged Ioseliani to evaluate these events more broadly. "This will not belittle you in any way. No one will say that you support the Georgian Dream if you assess the real situation," he said. "Excessive force on the part of the police is a psychological moment that should also be assessed. Perhaps, in this case, psychologists should also be used."
He encouraged the Public Defender to compare Georgia's situation with those in established democracies. "You can also cite examples from Germany, France, other democracies, the United States," he said. "You should be the authority for everyone, whether it is the opposition, the majority, or the many people who are not involved in politics at all."
Volski concluded by reiterating support for Ioseliani's role, while also pressing for a more comprehensive and balanced approach. "We made the right choice when we supported you. You have all the properties for this, unless, of course, you have certain restrictions, which Tea Tsulukiani spoke about," he said.
