Prize named after Georgia’s enemy given to one who attacked Georgian State, says Georgian Parliament Speaker as Sakharov Prize awarded to journalist convicted for assaulting police officer

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday criticised the European Parliament’s decision to award the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to convicted journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli - sentenced to two years in prison for committing an act of violence against a police officer - assessing it as “an exposure of her hostility toward the country than an honour”.

In his remarks, Papuashvili said the move demonstrated Brussels’ “disrespect for Georgia’s statehood, sovereignty, democracy, and constitutional order”.

“First of all, I would like to note that it has already been 19 days since Brussels has refused to condemn the violent assault on the Georgian President’s Palace and the attempted overthrow of the government that took place on October 4. It is unfortunate that Brussels continues to pursue a policy of confrontation with the Georgian people and their democratic choice, openly and covertly supporting marginalised radical groups whose actions are becoming increasingly extremist and desperate”, the Speaker said.

Papuashvili noted that, similar to previous elections, external actors once again sent encouraging signals to “defeated and discredited forces”, fueling resistance.

“This latest move - granting the Sakharov Prize to Mzia Amaghlobeli - should be viewed as the same kind of provocation. Today, Amaghlobeli is a hostage of a failed and discredited protest movement, expected to live up to a false image of a hero crafted around her. Such treatment of a person and her fate is truly regrettable”, he added.

The Speaker said the decision revealed once again that “Brussels shows no respect for Georgia’s statehood, sovereignty, democracy, or order”, while using the language of values to legitimise “anti-state and destructive activity at all levels”.

“With Orwellian doublethink, they attempt to invert reality - declaring those who attack the country as heroes and portraying patriots as enemies. The case of Lazare Grigoriadis was enough proof of how Brussels once glorified a man who threw Molotov cocktails [at police officers], which later inspired new acts of violence”, Papuashvili stated.

He further stressed that awarding the Sakharov Prize to Amaghlobeli also demonstrated a lack of sensitivity toward the Georgian people.

“If Brussels truly understood Georgia - who we are, where we come from, what concerns or delights us - they would remember that the Sakharov Prize bears the name of an enemy of Georgian statehood, a man who called our country a ‘small empire’ and supported its partition. They also seem to forget that the same prize was given to the Russian nationalist Navalny, who endorsed the occupation of Georgia”, Papuashvili remarked.

“The real irony lies in the fact that the prize named after an enemy of Georgian statehood is being given to an activist who herself attacked the Georgian state”, he continued.

He further emphasised that recent elections had clearly shown the will of the Georgian people, yet “external political engineering continues to offend the nation, instrumentalising political topics to divide society, incite violence, and cast perpetrators as victims”.

“We continue to see such encouraged individuals - those deliberately sacrificed by the masterminds who stay behind the scenes while others face punishment. The state, however, will calmly and methodically protect order, security, the constitution, and the absolute will of the majority. Everyone will have to face this reality”, Papuashvili concluded.