Prepared by Messenger Staff
Kaladze Says European Commission Is Aware of Detainees' Crimes
Tbilisi Mayor and Georgian Dream Secretary-General Kakha Kaladze said the European Commission is well aware of the crimes committed by people it calls "arbitrarily detained" in its 2026 Enlargement Report, which demands their release.
Speaking to journalists, Kaladze said examples from European countries clearly show how seriously throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers is treated. "They themselves know very well what crimes these individuals have committed," he said. He asked how police in Europe respond when officers are targeted this way, and how the offense is classified there.
In Georgia, he said, the opposite was happening, with certain individuals and organizations that benefited from European funding encouraging these developments. According to Kaladze, certain ambassadors were involved in the "misfortune" that unfolded in the country over a certain period.
They not only failed to condemn the violence but, "on the contrary," encouraged such incidents and helped create violent and extremist organizations, he said. Kaladze called these actions "shameful" and said they were seen, for example, on the part of certain diplomats.
Penitentiary Service Denies Garibashvili's Lawyer's Claims on Visit Restrictions
The Special Penitentiary Service categorically denies allegations by the lawyer of convicted former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili that his client is being denied the right to receive visits.
Commenting to Interpressnews, the agency said that under the regulations for closed-type facilities, where Garibashvili is held, he is entitled to two long-term visits per year and one short-term visit per month, and that he has used his full allocation.
As for additional visits granted as an incentive to inmates, the Service said the Penitentiary Code leaves them to the discretion of the facility director. "This is one form of incentive and not an obligation on the part of the director," the agency said. It added that Garibashvili has received such additional visits on several occasions, which is why "the defence's allegations of any kind of restriction are entirely unfounded."
The Service said it also had to address the issue several months ago, when Garibashvili's lawyer claimed that a scheduled visit had been cancelled. According to the agency, no additional visit was scheduled for him then or now, so there could have been no cancellation.
