We would like to comment on the statement made by the US Embassy about the law on covert investigative actions. The embassy, as is well known, claimed that the law in question did not adhere to European norms and that the parliament only passed it in order to exert control over Georgian citizens.

Anyone who even remotely familiarizes themselves with the law passed by the Georgian Parliament and contemporary international practice will recognize that it is wholly compliant with European norms and has nothing to do with the intention to exert government control over its citizens. Because of this, neither the president nor the Venice Commission were able to offer even a single legal opinion regarding the statute. In these circumstances, it is clear that the embassy is purposefully disseminating false information, which the radical opposition is utilizing to feign greater divisiveness. This, however, is not the major issue at hand.

The embassy's unfounded criticism of the aforementioned statute is not an accident.

It is evident from recent years that the embassy has made specific efforts to undermine Georgia's legal system and law enforcement. This was demonstrated by the persistent criticism of the court and the prosecutor's office, the outrageous condemnation of the changes to the "Code of Administrative Offenses", the insistence on the release of offenders like Ugulava, Melia, and Rurua, etc. Giorgi Gakharia's special operations, which sought to intentionally highlight the police's inadequacies and harm their reputation, were a particularly egregious example of the effort to topple Georgia's legal system.

Gakharia's entry into "Bassiani" was met with serious criticism in the team at the time, especially from Kakha Kaladze, who expressed his righteous indignation most actively. What we initially thought was an adventurous mistake turned out to be a completely deliberate crime. It seems that the main purpose of entering "Bassiani" was to harm the image of the police and to create aggression towards the police among the youth, and Gakharia clearly fulfilled this task.

The Pankisi special operation, which Gakharia carried out by bringing in the special forces at the wrong moment and launching them with the wrong missions, was also carried out to harm and destroy the reputation of the police. Everyone remembers the horrific image of the gravely hurt police officers and the unique equipment that had been lost. What we initially believed to be an error turned out to be an intentional crime, which also served to falsely depict the police as being weak and harm their reputation.

It is necessary to have a different conversation about why Gakharia intended to shoot rubber bullets at journalists and civilians who were not involved in the storming. Of course, the intention was to undermine public trust in the police and incite violence among the populace. Finally, it was apparent that Gakharia demanded the position of Minister of Internal Affairs in order to undermine and cause chaos inside the police.

We observe the attempts of the embassy to damage and disrupt the court and the prosecutor's office practically on a permanent basis. For years now, it has been conducting discrediting campaigns against the Prosecutor's Office and especially against the court by implementing embassy-sponsored NGOs. In addition, by setting such requirements as, for example, the election of judges and the general prosecutor by a qualified majority, the embassy is openly trying to give its favorite party - the "National Movement" the right to veto the appointments, which would be equivalent to disrupting both structures.

The fundamental objective of undermining Georgia's legal system and law enforcement is to make it simpler for criminals to plan a revolution, seize power, and draw Georgia into a conflict.

The systems for enforcing the law have a significant impact on the state's power, security, and sovereignty. Where the institutions of law enforcement are weak, the government is more vulnerable. Because of this, the government must be unyielding in upholding the law and combating crime, notwithstanding any efforts on the part of the embassy to steer events in the other direction.

Law enforcement agencies must be protected by the force of people who are empowered by justice. Because of this, we believe it is imperative to speak out and expose any statements or actions made by the embassy that are meant to undermine the rule of law in Georgia.