Kobakhidze Says Moscow Mechanism Report Was Pre-Drafted, Alleges ‘Conflict of Interest’

2026-03-14 - 15:05

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism report’s findings on Georgia were “pre-written,” accusing the rapporteur who prepared it of concealing a “conflict of interest” and of forcing Georgia “to register women as men and men as women.” The remarks follow the March 12 publication of a critical report under the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism, a human rights dimension tool invoked by 24 member states on January 29 “to launch an expert mission on the deteriorating human rights situation in Georgia.” The report, authored by sole rapporteur Patrycja Grzebyk, noted “marked democratic backsliding” in Georgia since spring 2024, recommending the immediate release of “all prisoners held for political reasons” and the repeal of a series of restrictive legislation, among other steps. “We all know that the report that was later published was pre-written,” Kobakhidze told reporters in Batumi on March 14, calling the report “entirely filled with falsehood” and pledging to provide more information to the public, including possibly through a briefing. While noting that the report also includes “certain information and recommendations that correspond to the truth and that are necessary to be taken into account,” the Georgian Dream Prime Minister said that “the process that was started was entirely dictated by political interests.” “You know which countries were at the forefront of initiating this process, and how these processes continued,” Kobakhidze said, noting: “They could not find a country more undemocratic than Georgia across the OSCE.” Kobakhidze argued there was a “conflict of interest,” echoing the claims circulated by pro-government media that accused Patrycja Grzebyk, the report’s author and Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Warsaw, of “direct ties” to the Polish government due to her publicly reported advisory and expert roles on international law. “Actually, the process was initiated, among others, by the Polish state, and it turned out that this person was herself a representative of the Polish government. This was a direct conflict of interest,” Kobakhidze said, noting that “the fact that this person concealed the conflict of interest deepens the suspicions.” Seizing on the recommendations that call for the repeal of restrictive legislation, including “Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence” (Foreign Agents Law) and the anti-LGBT “Law on Protection of Family Values and Minors,” Kobkhidze further accused the rapporteur of forcing Georgia to “to reregister women as men and men as women.” “This lady directly writes in her report that you can go to the Public Service Hall in Batumi and register yourself as a man,” Kobakhidze argued. “This lady is forcing one thing on us: if you want to go to the Public Service Hall and change your registration to male, we must allow it,” he said, calling it “abnormal.” “This lady forces us to register women as men and men as women,” he concluded. Earlier, Georgia’s permanent representative told the OSCE Permanent Council that Tbilisi “vigorously rejects” the findings and recommendations of the report, while member states that invoked the mechanism called on Georgia to fulfill the recommendations. Also Read: 11/03/2026 – OSCE PA Delegation Concludes Visit to Georgia, Notes ‘Absence of Political Dialogue’