On Friday 11 July, the EU High Representative and the foreign ministers of Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom strongly condemned the politically motivated imprisonment and detention of Georgian opposition leaders. The aim of this crackdown “is clearly to stifle political opposition in Georgia, a few months ahead of the local elections”, according to European officials.
“Their detention, as well as arbitrary arrests and increasing repression of other Georgian authorities’ critics (...) contribute to dismantling of democracy in Georgia and rapid transformation towards an authoritarian system, in contradiction to European norms and values”, stressed the ministers and the EU High Representative in a joint statement.
They called on the authorities to immediately release the political figures, journalists and activists detained “unjustly”, to reverse the repressive legislation and to open a national dialogue to find a way out of the current situation.
“It is not too late to reverse course”, warned the ministers and the High Representative, specifying that they would not hesitate to use the full range of unilateral and multilateral tools at their disposal if the authorities continued to take measures that undermined democracy and human rights.
The situation in Georgia will be discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 15 July. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)