Uladzimir Kobiets: Saakashvili adopts Lukashenka’s methods
- 22.09.2012, 21:23
The former political prisoner commented on the tortures in Georgian prisons.
Uladzimir Kobiets, the head of Andrei Sannikov’s electoral head quarters, told charter97.org that Belarus needs someone like the Georgian officer who had documented the tortures of prisoners and made them known to the public.
“Prison is the place where authoritarian rulers solve problems with their opponents and political rivals. Unfortunately, something what we would normally hear about Belarusian political prisoners, has happened in Georgia, who is supposed to be following European integration,” the politician said.
“The information about tortures in the Tbilisi prison became publicly known because an employee of the prison fled the country and told about the tortures, published the video with the proof of the humiliations of prisoners. It would have been great if there had been an officer in the Belarusian prison system who could do the same,” Uladzimir Kobiets remarked.
”The information about the tortures in prison led to the dismissal of the Georgian Interior Minister. Unfortunately, the proof of tortures of the Belarusian political prisoners hasn’t led to similar dismissals in Belarus. In Georgia, disclosed information gives result. But while Mikhail Saakashvili is talking about moving towards democracy, repressions hide behind his words” the former political prisoner emphasized.
“We welcome the willingness of the Georgian people to move towards democracy. But the leaders who use such methods as tortures in prisons, and who choose such friends as Lukashenka can lead the nation in a wrong direction. It’s a pity that the methods that Saakashvili adopted from Lukashenka become useful in Georgia,” Uladzimir Kobiets said.
We remind that after the peaceful demonstration on December 19, 2010, against the falsifications of the presidential elections, head of Andrei Sannikov’s electoral head quarters Uladzimir Kobiets was arrested together with other oppositionists. He was kept in the KGB jail and tortured.
