Elene Khoshtaria to Constitutional Court Judges: I am watching how you conduct the process and my heart breaks, it is hard to watch how lightly you tell lies – perhaps you could find some way out of this situation, just as Manana Kobakhidze did

"I want to directly address the Constitutional Court – when Lavrov’s daughter was 'partying' in Kakheti, shielded by special forces, why didn't seating Gavrilov in the [Parliament Speaker's] chair offend you? Why didn't Khareba bother you when he spoke about a list, saying, 'With this list, I must beat people?!' Why weren't you bothered when you saw Levan Khabeishvili’s battered face? Why didn't you count people's broken bones one by one? Or Gorduladze, who, shielded by an Olympic athlete and the State Security Service (SUS), beats and swings his hands at the opposition – why didn't you demand that he count a person's broken bones?!" – this is how Elene Khoshtaria, leader of "Droa," addresses from prison the judges of the Constitutional Court, who are reviewing the "Georgian Dream" lawsuit regarding the banning of five opposition parties.

Elene Khoshtaria’s address was released by her press service. As the imprisoned opposition politician notes, it is very hard for her to watch "how lightly the judges tell lies."

According to Khoshtaria, "this lightness in telling lies, this manner of acting, is truly deadly for any Georgian."

Furthermore, Khoshtaria directs questions at the judges, asking, among other things, whether they can look their own children in the eye and tell them "that Bidzina Ivanishvili is not an oligarch and that he has not usurped state institutions, including the court?"

"Since I do not have the opportunity to be physically there in Batumi, where a truly historic process is taking place, I want to directly address the Constitutional Court, and I have a very big request that you listen to this address of mine:

For so many days now, I have been watching you, watching you with very great attention. I watch your words, intonation, facial expressions, how you generally conduct this process, how... all of this, and my heart breaks. However, my heart does not break because you will ban the parties or commit a crime, nor does my heart break because you are carrying out orders – unfortunately, I have already come to terms with that. It is very hard for me to watch how lightly you tell lies. This lightness in telling lies, this manner of acting, is truly deadly for any Georgian. Answer to yourselves; I do not need answers. Answer to yourselves, your loved ones, your children, and your family members. With a concerned face, a forcibly gloomy face, when you say, 'Throwing stones and throwing Molotov cocktails, has such a thing ever been heard of? Isn't this violence?' – when you say this, with all due respect, since you are so concerned, how many Molotov cocktails did you see over the years amidst our hundred thousand citizens? First, I want you to answer this question. How many Molotov cocktails did you see? One finger will be enough for you to count them. On the other hand, I will tell you right now what things you did see – you saw them, yet you do not want to admit it.

Or when you talk about stone-throwing, 'whether stone-throwing is good or bad,' don't you, as judges, know that stone-throwing in isolation does not exist? Throwing a stone can be a sport, throwing a stone can be an attack, and throwing a stone can be self-defense – do you not know the context in which that stone-throwing happened? Why weren't you bothered when you saw Levan Khabeishvili’s battered, bloodied face, openly beaten by special forces?! Why didn't you count people's broken bones one by one? Or Gorduladze, who, shielded by an Olympic athlete and the State Security Service (SUS), beats and swings his hands at the opposition – why didn't you demand that he count a person's broken bones?! Or why didn't it bother you when, 'systemically' – since you love that word – prepared minibuses ('marshrutkas') were brought in to torture people? Or why didn't it bother you when they spit in the face of a respected journalist?! Or why didn't it bother you when they cut through the fence and... Kobakhidze said he was preparing a surprise for the public? When they were met with an open, cut-through fence like that? Or why didn't Khareba bother you when police officers held a young fellow citizen of ours by the arms while he kicked him? Or why didn't Khareba bother you when he spoke about a list, saying, 'With this list, I must beat people?!' Or why didn't Maka Chikhladze’s face bother you? Or why don't you see every day the faces and eyes of stripped women forced to do squats? You saw none of this, and you simply saw 'a stone flying.'

Now let's move on to insults – it turns out you were offended by the 'vetting' system, and you are offended by Maia Kopaleishvili, so you exercised your supposed local power, which does not extend beyond that room; that is the only right Bidzina Ivanishvili gave you.

When Lavrov’s daughter was 'partying' in Kakheti, shielded by special forces, why didn't that offend you? Why didn't seating Gavrilov in the chair offend you, which subsequently led to Mako Gomuri, Letodiani, and others having their eyes gouged out with animal bullets? Or why didn't Lasha Natsvlishvili’s cursing offend you? Or generally, when false witnesses stand before your esteemed court bench and tell lies – when you know better than anyone that they are telling lies – why doesn't that offend you? Does it only offend you when Maia Kopaleishvili tells you the truth?!

Now, I want to speak about disobedience – I believe [Sergo] Metopishvili was asking a question, he wanted to ask the coalition a question about disobedience and wanted to mention me, saying, 'In your party, there is one leader who views disobedience differently.' Yes, Your Honor, that is precisely how I view disobedience, and I pray to God that you would view the law in general the same way – because you are offering me to attend a chemical examination of a marker in the courtroom, stand there with a serious face, and maintain my respect. You are offering me to believe that standing on a sidewalk is a crime, to comply, to stand in court, and to respect myself afterward. You are offering me to confess that a post written on Facebook is a crime, then attend this court, and then continue respecting myself and serving my country. You know better than anyone that what I am speaking is the truth. I am telling you sincerely, it is the truth that I will repeat my entire life, the truth with which I will look my children in the eye, look them boldly in the eye and tell them. Now, you think about it: can you look your children in the eye and tell them that Bidzina Ivanishvili is not an oligarch and that he has not usurped state institutions, including the court? Can you do this?! Do not tell me the answer, tell it to yourselves, and I don't know, perhaps you could truly find some way out of this situation, just as Ms. Manana Kobakhidze did – and I respect that way out.

Finally, I want to tell you about a 'united organism.' This 'united organism' that you invented, I truly do not know what it is, but I know exactly what a united organism is – a united organism is Georgia, our nation, both a long-suffering and a vastly proud nation. A nation that knows disobedience, a nation that could not be defeated by the likes of Jalal al-Din, Timur Lenk, and so on, nor by Russia, and even less will Bidzina Ivanishvili defeat it. That is what a united organism is. In closing, I will tell you this: my wish is that you and I do not live by excluding one another, but rather live precisely as a united organism, where everyone has their own function and everyone respects one another," – stated Elene Khoshtaria.