Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili commented on possible pardons for protesters detained during demonstrations. He strongly criticized the use of Molotov cocktails, framing them as a medieval act of violence misrepresented today.

“It is important that every crime is punished. Whoever has the audacity to commit a crime must also have the courage to answer for it. It is essential to note that we are dealing with criminals - and this is precisely what some do not want to acknowledge! A ‘Molotov cocktail’ in the Middle Ages symbolized burning people at the stake. Yes, this is certainly ‘pro-European,’ but it is from several centuries ago!” Papuashvili said.

He added that “all punishments are proportionate, and the independent Georgian judiciary has spoken.”

On the question of pardons, he clarified:

“Pardons are not within my competence. That is the President’s prerogative, and it is up to him to decide who, when, and for what reason is pardoned.

As for those who committed crimes - every crime must have a consequence. That is the crucial understanding. Today there is an attempt to sell crime as a good deed, violence as love, and the burning of Parliament as a celebration of democracy. This is being done by crooked Georgians funded from abroad!

The main problem is that they want to impose violence from outside, hatred from outside, actions against the country, and then sell all of this as pro-Europeanism. Apparently, making a ‘Molotov cocktail’ - pouring gasoline, inserting cloth, igniting it, throwing it at a person - is now considered ‘pro-European.’ Today Brussels says this! They say that throwing a Molotov cocktail at a person is pro-European.

Brussels and its political leaders talk about those they claim were ‘unjustly convicted.’ Who is ‘unjust’? Is a Molotov cocktail ‘unjust’?

The key issue is that a crime must be called a crime! When Brussels calls a crime a virtuous act - that is precisely evidence of the EU’s moral decay. Today, Brussels is leading the EU into a civilizational abyss.

What could be more disgraceful than calling the burning of a person ‘pro-European’? By the way, in Europe, people were burned - during the Middle Ages. If this is what pro-Europeanism means - throwing Molotov cocktails and burning a person - yes, it is, but it is several centuries-old Europeanism. And this is the ideology they are stuck in!” Papuashvili concluded.