"Unfortunately, the situation in Georgia has not changed since January and it is impossible to talk about progress in implementing the recommendations of our Assembly," Portuguese MEP Edith Estrella said at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, where debates on Georgia are underway.

“Before I present the resolution, I would like to make a personal remark: this is not a resolution on Georgia that I would have liked to present to this Assembly, this is not a debate that I would have expected at this spring session. Do you remember that in January the Assembly adopted a resolution on the ratification of the credentials of the Georgian delegation? You remember that the Assembly expressed its deep concern about the political crisis in Georgia and condemned the police brutality in the context of demonstrations and violations of freedom of assembly and expression, as well as the crackdown on the opposition and civil society. Unfortunately, the situation has not changed since January and it is not possible to report on progress in implementing our Assembly’s recommendations; on the contrary, according to the latest information and reports from members of civil society and the democratic opposition, the situation has worsened,” noted Edith Estrella.

She said the situation in Georgia has worsened on virtually all fronts.

“Recognizing the delegation’s mandate with limitations, the Assembly outlined a set of clear recommendations and demands for resolving the crisis in the country, in which it expected clear and tangible progress by this session. Therefore, in the draft resolution that we are presenting today, we assess the developments in Georgia since our debates in January. We deeply regret that no progress has been made relating to our recommendations, but rather that democratic regression has continued. The situation has deteriorated on virtually all fronts. No steps have been taken to implement the Assembly’s call for an inclusive process to be launched immediately, involving all stakeholders to create an electoral environment conducive to new, truly democratic elections. On the contrary, our resolution highlights a number of changes to the electoral legislation that make this environment even more unfavorable for democratic elections,” the Portuguese MP noted.

She said that the abuse of legal processes against protesters, journalists and civic leaders continues.

“Arrests and abuse of legal processes against protesters, journalists and civic leaders continue. Pre-trial detentions continue to be extended without proper legal basis, cases of police brutality against demonstrators remain uninvestigated, and impunity persists. It is worrying that human rights organizations have reported that a large number of those detained in connection with the demonstrations have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment during arrest and detention. This deterioration must stop, the dramatic democratic setback must be reversed, and the Assembly’s recommendations and demands must be implemented immediately,” said Edith Estrella.