Parliament approves law change to prevent hidden surveillance
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Parliament of Georgia adopted a comprehensive legislative package to prevent hidden surveillance with 97 votes in favour and zero against at its first hearing at a special sitting in Parliament today.
The approved law changes set new regulations for protecting personal data of Georgian citizens.
The initiative was introduced to Parliament last summer but the adoption process was postponed as law enforcement agencies did not agree with some of the proposed points.
The United States Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland praised the country for having such a comprehensive legislative package approved.
"Every country is grappling with the issue about how to find a balance between privacy and demands of national security,” he said.
"I think Georgia has made remarkable progress compared to any other country of the former Soviet space in getting rid of the legacy of surveillance and spying and this kind of thing from the past.”
At the same sitting today, Parliament Speaker Davit Usupashvili also announced the Parliament budget would not increase in 2015.
He said next year’s projected budget had become a controversial topic and society did not want to see it increased.
"So the majority decided the 2015 budget should remain the same as it was in 2014,” Usupashvili said.
On May 16 Parliament proposed to increase its budget – currently around 55 million GEL – by two million. Parliament said the extra money would go to increased staff salaries and upgrading fleet vehicles.
After today’s sitting, Parliament closed its doors until June 27 while the self-local elections are held. The elections will take place on June 15.
Illegal surveillance became a subject of intense discussion in Georgia following the revelation thousands of secret video recordings were kept by the former government.
UPDATED: 20:57: The Georgian Parliament voted to postpone the adoption of a new law on surveillance for four months. After much debate, lawmakers decided to discuss the final version of the law in February instead of April, after 65 MPs voted in favour while 31 voted against.
Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili has publically announced his disappointment in the delaying of adopting changes to the country’s surveillance law.
Georgia’s Parliament passed President Giorgi Margvelashvili’s notes on the country’s surveillance law with 95 votes in favour to one against to extend the deadline from November 1 to December 1 instead of being adopted on February 28, 2015.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili says any word that discredits the country's state security services weakens Georgia. He also stressed "certain progress” had been made regarding the investigation about the leak of surveillance videos.
United States (US) Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly says the current Georgian Government is "very concerned” about the leak of surveillance videos illegally taped by the previous authorities and have asked the US to help resolve the problem.
Today Parliament of Georgia approved amendments to the surveillance law that outlined tough punishments for those who taped, possessed or spread videos showing a person’s private life.
The amendments were approved at its first reading.
Georgian lawmakers have presented a document that legally assesses facts of torture, inhumane treatment and other human rights violations that took place over eight years under the previous government and offer recommendations so that these atrocities never happen again.