On November 12, the Ministry of Internal Affairs denied British citizen Ben Mallett entry into Georgia, who, according to the Chairman of the United National Movement Levan Khabeishvili, is a political consultant of the party.
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‘‘I said on several broadcasts that serious consultants will be brought in by National Movement, Strategy Agmashenebeli, and Victory Coalition, in our preparation to defeat the Russian oligarch. One of them was the British citizen Ben Mallett, who was in Georgia a week ago and who should help us defeat the Russian propaganda and get rid of the Putinists. They didn't let him in, even though he was here a few days ago and was returning.
Our offices are under surveillance, we are being spied on - they saw that this person was going to our office, they saw that he was working with us.
After all, the Russian party focuses on choking the opposition and not, for instance, on occupiers kidnapping and killing our fellow citizens. They don’t concern themselves with that. The important thing is they did let the consultant to the National Movement into the country. They identified him from surveillance and are turning him back without cause,’’ Khabeishvili said at the Tbilisi International Airport.
The decision to deny entry to Georgia to Ben Mallet states that he does not meet other requirements defined by Georgian legislation. The Ministry of Internal Affairs often refuses entry to Georgia to journalists and activists on this basis.
Ben Mallet, a citizen of Great Britain, is the director of international campaigns of THE MESSINA GROUP based in the US. According to the website, he has vast experience advising politicians, governments, and companies on communications strategies.
At various times, he worked as an advisor to the Prime Ministers of Great Britain, Boris Johnson and David Cameron, as well as to the Foreign Secretary, Lord Zac Goldsmith. More recently, Ben advised on research and communications strategies for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain and President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya. He also served as campaign director for the London Conservative Party during the recent London mayoral elections.
