Georgian parliament to deprive former presidents of state security

The Georgian Parliament has approved a draft law that would deprive current President Salome Zourabichvili of state security protection after leaving office should she be found to have violated the constitution during her term.

This was reported by the press service of the Georgian legislature, Caliber.Az reports referring to Georgian media.

The draft law was supported by 83 MPs in its first reading, which would stipulate that high-ranking officials such as the president, prime minister and members of parliament will not benefit from state protection after the end of their term if the Constitutional Court determines that they have violated the constitution during their tenure.

"The state should not be obligated to spend money or create special conditions for a person against whom the Constitutional Court has ruled a violation of the constitution of Georgia. In such a case, the state should, of course, not be required to conduct special measures to protect such a person," one of the initiators of the bill, MP Tengiz Sharmanashvili, said while presenting the bill at the committee meeting during which a number of other legislative changes have been voted on. 

Under the current law, the president of Georgia, as well as the prime minister and the speaker of parliament are entitled to state protection for one year after the expiration of their term yet can be extended if a viable threat to them can be proven.

By Nazrin Sadigova