Tbilisi: Levan Yoseliani the Public Defender of Georgia met with Robin Dunigan the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the United States of America to Georgia. During the bilateral meeting both sides discussed the situation in the country in terms of human rights protection.
The main issue of discussion was lawsuits filed in the Constitutional Court against the Law on “Transparency of Foreign Influence.” Moreover the discussion also focused on the perspective of their review and the issue of the Public Defender’s participation in the said process.
Notably many nongovernmental organizations as well as civil society organizations have filed lawsuits against the controversial foreign agent’s law. The law was criticized for provisions that may stifle the voices of independent media houses. The USA’s ambassador was interested in the proportionality of the actions of law enforcement officers during the ongoing protests against the law, the conditions of the arrested persons, and the ongoing investigation process.
It should be specifically mentioned that the parties also discussed the upcoming parliamentary elections and the mandate of the Public Defender in terms of involvement in election processes. In addition to other issues the meeting also discussed the long-term cooperation between the US Embassy and the Office of the Public Defender and the ongoing project of the American Agency for International Development (USAID) to strengthen the Office of the Public Defender in this direction.
On the other hand the Georgian public defender Levan Yoselian thanked the ambassador for the support that the US government and the American people constantly provide to the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia to establish democratic values in the country. He also assured the ambassador that the democratic values of the country would be preserved in all spheres.
The public defender also explained that the opposition parties are misleading the citizens against the foreign agent law. The public’s fears that this may stifle the independent media voices are totally wrong.
