“We live in a country that is increasingly resembling a dystopia, as we know from literature and films - especially with an allusion to the ‘Ministry of Truth’ from ‘1984’! We are an authoritarian country that is beginning to resemble totalitarian states,” said Giorgi Sioridze, a member of ‘Lelo – Strong Georgia,’ on PalitraNews’ program “Day’s Newsroom.”

Sioridze spoke about the activities of the Hate Speech Department established within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to him, this body, which he says is itself a product of the ruling “Georgian Dream,” will not solve the problem of hate speech.

He stated that the purpose of this department is to eliminate space for free thought and expression in the country.

“The new department of the Interior Ministry most deserves the popular name given by people - the ‘scrolling and screenshotting department’ - which has already begun its work diligently and started restricting people’s freedom of expression and free thought. Courts, which are supposedly already not busy, will now be burdened even more with these completely meaningless cases. We clearly understand what the goal is. The goal is to eliminate the space for free expression in this country, including on social media. This is being packaged under the label of hate speech. It is one link in a chain that started with increased fines, 5,000-lari penalties, then administrative imprisonment for blocking roads, criminal liability for repeat offenses, and even imprisonment for standing on the sidewalk.

The standard of hostility and hatred was established by leading figures of ‘Georgian Dream’ - Shalva Papuashvili, Irakli Kobakhidze, Mamuka Mdinaradze, Dimitri Samkharadze and others - through labeling people as ‘traitors’ and ‘stateless.’ Have we forgotten that these same people often engaged in physical confrontations as well?” Sioridze said.

In this context, he also referred to cases of violence committed by police officers. In his assessment, such crimes are systemic, and without video footage captured and disseminated by media, no one would have been held accountable.

Responding to claims from government representatives that there is an attempt to discredit the police - something they say comes from the “Ackerman manual” - Sioridze said that these actions actually come from the “Kremlin manual.”

“It is not from the Ackerman manual, but from the Kremlin manual that every step and statement made by ‘Georgian Dream’ and spread through toxic propaganda channels originates,” he said. He also added that the ruling party spreads lies based on conspiracy theories, which, according to him, follows the path taken by other authoritarian countries such as Russia, Belarus, and Orban’s Hungary.

“During protest rallies, people were maimed, tortured, and brought to the brink of death. The basis for claiming that police violence is systemic comes from cases such as Davit Katsarava, Levan Khabeishvili, and Aleko Elisashvili. Aleko Elisashvili, whose court hearings are being scheduled on a daily basis, is a victim of political persecution, just as a specific beating raises legitimate suspicion that it was Mamuka Mdinaradze’s revenge. There have been many other cases - over 300 - including against journalists, which did not happen in secret; everything was broadcast live.

When Western partners reacted to all this and Interior Ministry officials were included in severe sanctions packages - the ‘Magnitsky List’ - these same individuals were nominated by Irakli Kobakhidze for state honors. And I am not even mentioning the so-called ‘tituska’ groups who were not wearing official uniforms,” he said.

Sioridze also commented on the report prepared by Amnesty International on Georgia. He said Amnesty International is one of the most authoritative human rights organizations in the world, which does not spare any government, and he criticized the ruling party for calling its report unfair.

“‘Georgian Dream’ claims that the entire civilized world is against it. They spoke about a global war party, the ‘deep state,’ the Eurobureaucracy, and developed various conspiracy theories. The EU, the previous and current US administrations - all are supposedly against Ivanishvili and ‘Georgian Dream.’ Even on the Amnesty International assessment, they showed the audacity to call the report unfair.

Amnesty International is one of the most authoritative international human rights organizations, which spares no government - including democratic ones. I remind you that when the George Floyd case happened in the United States, which was an isolated incident, it triggered a nationwide wave of protests...

When we talk about hate speech, systemic violence, and disinformation, in the 35 years since independence, all of this has reached its worst level. In addition, since 2022 - since the start of the war in Ukraine - Georgia has experienced its greatest regression. In this context, ‘Georgian Dream’ still claims that everyone is actually fighting against it.

Fundamental rights and freedoms and democratic space in this country have been destroyed, and there is no independent judiciary. These are the core values on which the European Union is based, yet ‘Georgian Dream’ now claims that the EU is blackmailing us.

The threat of suspension of visa liberalization with the EU is very unfortunate for every citizen, but it is 100% the result of ‘Georgian Dream’s’ actions.

Visa liberalization is a privilege that requires at least minimal compliance with EU values. When you do the opposite, all that remains for your voters is dirty propaganda,” Sioridze said.