Cherkezishvili Responds to City Hall Statement: Standard of Responsibility Should Also Apply to Kaladze

Nika Cherkezishvili, a member of the Tbilisi Sakrebulo from the "Strong Georgia - Lelo" party, responded to a statement by the Tbilisi City Hall, according to which "so-called animal defenders are detained for destructive actions". In his view, the impression remains that the City Hall statement, among other things, is also an attempt to neutralize the statement made by Kaha Kaladze himself addressing animal rights defenders.

Cherkezishvili writes that while the mayor speaks of "putting to sleep" several people, the City Hall's condemnation of threats against its employees naturally raises the question: why does the same standard of responsibility not apply to the mayor himself. According to him, the problem is that the City Hall will push substantive questions about the possible improper treatment of stray animals into the background.

In his assessment, what is needed from the City Hall is not a preliminary declaration of its innocence, but full transparency and exhaustive answers to all questions. Cherkezishvili notes that if threats, the spreading of photos, insults and intimidation against the employees of the Animal Monitoring Agency and their family members do indeed take place, this is unacceptable and an appropriate response is necessary. He says that the protection of animal rights does not give anyone the right to violate human rights, but a uniform standard against threats and intimidation should apply to everyone, including the mayor.

According to the Sakrebulo member, the main focus in the process should be the interests of stray animals, establishing the facts and determining responsibility. He writes that no party should stand above the law, no agency should be exempt from public oversight, and the truth must be established fully and not selectively.

Cherkezishvili adds that he has already sent official appeals to the Tbilisi City Hall, the Animal Monitoring Agency, the Environmental Supervision Department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, the National Environmental Agency and the Tbilisi Office of the National Food Agency. He demands detailed information about the footage broadcast by the TV company "Pirveli" and disseminated by animal rights defenders.

Earlier, the City Hall issued a statement and called on the relevant bodies to respond. According to the statement, "for several days, threatening calls and bullying against municipal employees have not stopped". The City Hall writes that "politically engaged groups" are publishing photos of Monitoring Agency representatives on social networks, calling them murderers, slanderers and those who buried animals alive, and threatening them and their family members.