Georgian Dream has announced that it will begin legal proceedings against the BBC in international courts. According to the party, the BBC disseminated serious allegations against the Georgian government based on the testimonies of interested parties, which have no connection to reality.
"This morning, the BBC published an article containing numerous absurd and false claims, including an allegation that the Ministry of Internal Affairs allegedly used a 'chemical substance' against violent protesters during illegal demonstrations. Clearly, the so-called media, which has become a propaganda tool of the 'deep state,' presented no facts to substantiate such a serious accusation. Moreover, all assumptions were based on the opinions of specific individuals, including Dr. Chakhunashvili, who was actively involved in the illegal demonstrations, and his family member, father Giorgi Chakhunashvili, who personally participated in the October 4 'regime overthrow' attempt and physically entered the President’s Palace grounds."
The statement adds that the article mainly relied on the accounts of interested parties such as Gigauri, the accused Khasaya, the accused Shaishmelashvili, the convicted Bachiashvili, and others. The communications service of Georgian Dream had active contact with the investigative journalist before the article was published. They provided detailed, point-by-point responses to all questions, offering evidence for every statement. They also requested that the BBC uphold high journalistic standards and base all claims in the article solely on evidence.
“Instead, we received a flood of lies and serious allegations against the government, which, as noted, are based on the accounts of interested parties and clearly bear no connection to reality. It is publicly known that a few weeks ago, the BBC was involved in a scandal when it aired a crudely edited interview of U.S. President Donald Trump, altering the context and content. Because of this manipulation, the broadcaster’s Director-General and Executive Director of News resigned. However, this resembled punishing the U.S. President rather than taking responsibility for the mistake. The BBC has no moral or professional restraint against carrying out dirty assignments and spreading lies — this is evident from the recently published article. Their management changes remind us of the multiple British prime ministers’ changes in recent years, which did not lead to any substantial reforms, leaving a ‘deep state’ government replaced by another."
The statement concludes that due to the BBC publishing false allegations against the Georgian government without presenting a single piece of evidence, relying largely on the testimony of criminals, and ignoring responses provided by the authorities, Georgian Dream has decided to initiate legal action against the false media in international courts. The party will use all possible legal means to hold the media accountable for spreading false and defamatory claims.
For reference, the BBC reported that evidence they collected indicates that the Georgian government used World War I-era chemical weapons last year to suppress anti-government protests.
According to the BBC, “Protesters opposing the suspension of Georgia’s EU accession process reported various symptoms, including burning eyes, coughing, sneezing, and vomiting, which lasted for weeks.”
The BBC also consulted chemical weapons experts, Georgian special forces representatives, and doctors, who concluded that “the evidence points to the use of an agent known to French military as ‘Camite.’”
