The President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, has pardoned Lazare Grigoriadis, a participant in the March protests against Russian law, who was sentenced today to 9 years in prison by the Tbilisi City Court. The president announced the pardon decision on TV Pirveli, during the program Reaction.
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"I made this decision this morning at 10 o'clock. I didn't wait for anyone's call; no one can tally points or make threats, because I concluded in my conscience that this young man should not be punished for 9 years. I haven't signed it yet, but the decision was made without any external influence; it was my own. I've been contemplating it for a few days.
...now there will be an attempt... nazi, nazi. I'm used to it, sometimes I'm called a nazi, sometimes KGB, I've been called everything in this country, I'm ready for it.
There will be an attempt on the commander-in-chief and the police. This is the controversy. I want to tell the police: this is not an incitement. My opinion is that there is no evidence that this happened. I want to appeal to everyone, the police in this country are not only respectable and very important, but in the period we are entering, the role of the police is very important; they will be on guard for the stability of our country.
There is an attempt to divide society, to crush it, to repeat the very bad pages from the past, and in all this our defender is and will be the police," Zurabishvili said.
On March 29, 2023, the police arrested 21-year-old Lazare Grigoriadis. The prosecutor's office accused Grigoriadis of throwing a Molotov cocktail at Ministry of Internal Affairs employees and setting fire to a Ministry of Internal Affairs car during a rally against the Russian law on so-called Foreign Agents on Rustaveli Avenue on March 7.
The then Georgian Prime Minister, Irakli Gharibashvili, repeatedly violated the presumption of innocence of Lazare Grigoriadis. On April 3, the Prime Minister said that "he [Lazare] intended to burn the policeman alive." On June 30, during his speech in parliament, Gharibashvili once again declared Lazare Grigoriadis guilty: "It turned out that someone, dirty, I don't care who it is, decided to throw a Molotov cocktail directly at the police and burn them alive. I tell you this with indignation. I will be absolutely uncompromising here. We will not forgive anyone for such a thing. This is raising a hand against the state. Let everyone remember this well. Now come out and defend. Why don't they protect?! Why are they not released from prison?! No one can bring him out, no one can forgive this serious crime, who raises his hand against the police."
The Tbilisi City Court refused Lazare Grigoriadis three times to accept the lawsuit against Irakli Gharibashvili and the current chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream, Irakli Kobakhidze. Lazare Grigoriadis demanded the determination of the fact of defamation, the rejection of statements that hurt honor and dignity, and compensation for moral damages.
