A sanction should not apply to a family member, this approach is contrary to human rights standards, Georgian Dream chairman Irakli Kobakhidze told reporters, responding to the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s family members to Georgia.
According to him, Georgia is guided by the law on occupation and if the said law was not violated in this case, the customs service had no reason not to allow specific persons into Georgia.
“It should be said by what criteria the state has regarding the entry of specific people into the country. Georgia is not part of the sanctions, we have not imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation, and the reasons for this have been explained more than once. There is a law on occupation, the main criterion is whether or not there is a violation of the law on occupation. In this case, if the law on occupation was not violated, of course, the customs service had no reason to prevent specific persons from entering Georgia. The relevant agencies will take care of the rest, but you are also advised to be guided from beginning to end by the occupation law, which is the main guiding principle for each agency.
Regarding the sanctioning of persons, I would like to clarify two things – first, when we do not join the sanctions, this means, including personal sanctions, that is, we do not impose sanctions on the Russian Federation, and this means, among other things, not imposing personal sanctions. Second, even theoretically, if we consider personal sanctioning of someone for something, this can apply, when we are talking about Georgia, a legal state, only to those people who have directly committed a criminal act. A sanction should not apply to a family member, this approach is contrary to human rights standards. I am a human rights specialist, I studied this field in Germany at one time and I can tell you directly, boldly, that sanctioning a family member is grossly against human rights standards and this is a very mild assessment,” said Irakli Kobakhidze.
He also responded to the protest that followed the mentioned issue and noted that “the so-called protest has only one goal – escalation, creating unrest in the country, organizing provocations, and the final goal is the second front.”
Irakli Kobakhidze urged the population to carefully observe the events and make a correct assessment.
“As for morality, I would like to remind you who was the leader of yesterday’s protest – this is Elena Khoshtaria, and I want to talk about her morality. If there is anything sanctioned by the West in Russia, it is first of all the state and the budget itself, and this person, Elena Khoshtaria, who seems to be agitated that there was someone who came to Georgia, she receives millions of Russian rubles from this sanctioned budget. This is their moral face. I would also like to remind you that three years after the occupation of 20% of our country, after Saakashvili handed over two of our historical regions to the Russian Federation with his adventurous actions, and because of this occupation, 500 Georgians died and 30 thousand people became IDPs due to Russian military aggression, Saakashvili personally visited Mikhalkov, who is distinguished by his active participation in the propaganda of the Russian government. This is their moral face. Today I can directly tell you that the so-called protest that we saw yesterday has only one goal – escalation, creating unrest in the country, organizing provocations and the ultimate goal is the second front. I would like to call on the public to properly observe these events and give a correct assessment,” said Kobakhidze.
Law enforcers arrested 16 people yesterday, including ‘Droa’ party leader Elene Khoshtaria, who protested the wedding of relatives of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Kvareli.
Khoshtaria was demanding the admission of a lawyer to those detained at the rally near the Kvareli Lake hotel, during which she was arrested.
According to Nika Melia, a member of the National Movement, Lavrov’s sanctioned family has left Georgia.
Related Story: Arrested ‘Droa’ party leader Elene Khoshtaria refuses to participate in the trial
