Kelly Degnan: Whoever is the next Public Defender is someone who's qualified, who's independent, who's courageous

The selection process of the Public Defender needs to be inclusive. It needs to be done in a transparent way to ensure that whoever is the next Public Defender is someone who's qualified, who's independent, who's courageous, US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan said.

“As we've seen from the outstanding work of Nino Lomjaria and her professional team at the Public Defender's Office, this is a very important position and it's important because it's one of the few independent agencies that has the obligation under your Constitution to protect the human rights of every citizen in Georgia. That is why the selection process needs to be inclusive. It needs to be done in a transparent way to ensure that whoever is the next Public Defender is someone who's qualified, who's independent, who's courageous, and who is prepared to take on this tremendous responsibility mandated by the Constitution to protect the human rights of every Georgian citizen”, said the ambassador.