Ucha Nanuashvili: I cannot speak about the questions asked during the interrogation because I was made to sign a non-disclosure; if meeting with an OSCE expert is a crime, then officials should also be questioned
The questioning of former Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili before a magistrate judge has concluded. He gave testimony at the Tbilisi City Court for nearly an hour.
After the session, Nanuashvili told journalists that he signed a non-disclosure agreement, and therefore cannot discuss the questions asked or the details of the interrogation.
“I signed a non-disclosure agreement, so I do not have the right to speak about the questions asked. What I can say is that today’s interrogation itself is absurd, participation in a theater of the absurd. Instead of state institutions, including the Security Service, focusing on real security issues – such as the fact that 21 people are imprisoned in Sukhumi and Tskhinvali, and addressing the safety of residents in the occupied territories – they are occupied with some fabricated case.
I cannot discuss the details, but I emphasize that this investigation regarding the ‘Moscow Mechanism’ itself constitutes a violation by the Georgian authorities of the OSCE operational document, which explicitly states that the authorities are obliged to cooperate with the Moscow Mechanism and to protect the rights of individuals who engage with the experts in any form. Such individuals or organizations must be protected, and the government is prohibited from exerting any pressure, including summons, as occurred today. This is a serious breach of OSCE requirements, for which the Georgian authorities must answer.
I did not coordinate anything; I answered the questions and assisted the expert. This was my duty as a citizen and human rights defender. The expert asked if I had any information regarding torture or ill-treatment. One case I mentioned was that of Davit Katsarava, which is well-known to the public and has also been submitted to the Strasbourg Court.
The OSCE mechanism is an official mechanism, not a private institution. Georgia has been an OSCE member since 1992 and is obliged to cooperate with the expert and provide all information. That is why the highest state officials met with him. If this is considered a crime, then the officials themselves should also be questioned.
The investigation is based on old articles, which began in December 2025, if I remember correctly, Articles 333 and 319, which concern providing assistance to foreign organizations,” Nanuashvili stated.
