As Georgia celebrated Police Day on May 31, the President was conspicuously absent from the official ceremony marking the day, which was attended by high-ranking Georgian officials, including Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, as well as other ministers. Rumors that the President was not invited to the ceremony were confirmed by the Minister of Interior himself, who told reporters after the event dedicated to Police Day that she was not invited because she had pardoned a convict “who wanted to burn a policeman alive.”
Gomaluari said: “We decided not to invite Mme President so as not to cause any inconvenience to the policemen.” He then claimed that the inconvenience would have been caused by the fact that President Salome Zurabishvili pardoned one of the prisoners who was a “cop killer”, ostensibly alluding to Lazare Grigoriadis, who was arrested during the anti-foreign agents law rallies in 2023 and sentenced to nine years in prison for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at a policeman, in a highly controversial case. President Zurabishvili granted a presidential pardon to Grigoriadis, who was widely believed to have been chosen by the authorities as a scapegoat to intimidate other rally participants.
“You know very well what decision was made by the President,” Gomelauri said, adding: “I think that did not put her in an embarrassing situation and we took care of Mme President again.”
“I have no constitutional or legal obligation to invite the president. I can’t imagine the president of any country pardoning a cop killer. ..Therefore, in order not to cause any inconvenience, we decided, including the police, not to invite Mrs. President,” Interior Minister said.
He further noted that he is not legally required to invite the President to the ceremony, adding: “I can’t imagine the President of any country pardoning a cop killer. He was convicted of attempted murder, wasn’t he [Grigoriadis]? He wanted to burn a policeman alive.”
According to Gomelauri, the Ambassadors were all invited to the event, but they could not attend due to various reasons, and instead their representatives attended the event.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also addressed the issue of absence of the President at the event, saying: “The absence of the president at today’s event is absolutely logical, in the circumstances when she pardoned one of the prisoners who threw a “Molotov cocktail” at a policeman, tried to burn the policeman alive. She had no moral right to be here today.”
Meanwhile, President Salome Zurabishvili was reportedly confronted by so-called titushky (government-paid thugs) while walking in a park with her grandchild on May 31, who, according to at least one witness cited by TV Pirveli, allegedly held sticks and bats and shouted and verbally assaulted the President.