“It is speculation that this initiative is censorship - this was absolutely necessary, because hate speech is directed toward violence,” said Georgian Dream MP Tengiz Sharmanashvili to journalists, responding to the issue of creating a special department within the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

According to him, hate speech in some cases ends in fatal consequences, including in the United States and Europe, and “when it has no boundaries, it encourages violence and the final fragmentation of society.”

“It is speculation that this initiative is censorship, because these people have not shown a similar reaction to the fact that in the UK more than 2,000 people were summoned by the police over Facebook posts, and in Germany even arrests are made for the same reason. Have they said that there is censorship in Germany or the UK? They had no reaction at all. Georgia has declared that our standard will be much higher and this will be established through judicial practice. The establishment of any law happens through judicial practice - no one can predict in advance what practice a given law will have. Our judicial practice is also safeguarded. We are under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights, and if any of our court decisions are considered unacceptable, Strasbourg can review them and establish judicial practice in this direction itself.

This was absolutely necessary, because hate speech leads to violence. It sometimes results in fatal outcomes, including high-profile murders based on such grounds, as you may remember in the United States and Europe. And when it has no limits, it encourages violence and the final fragmentation of society,” Sharmanashvili said.

For context, a special department will be created within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, whose main function will be the systematic monitoring of hate speech, offensive campaigns, and aggressive communication in the public space, as well as taking appropriate legal measures in response.

According to Vice Prime Minister and State Minister for Coordination of Law Enforcement Agencies Mamuka Mdinaradze, it is the state’s duty to ensure an environment where different opinions are protected, while at the same time the promotion of hatred, hostility, and insults is unacceptable.