Saakashvili Meets with NGO Leaders

President Mikheil Saakashvili held a three hour meeting with representatives from Georgian civil society organizations on November 16. Discussion was mainly focused on the issues of religion, freedom of speech, human rights and the judicial system.

Legal expert Davit Usupashvili said after the meeting with the President that talks “were not sweet.”

After the talks the civil society leaders stressed that problems regarding freedom of the media and the judicial system are the cause for many debates with the President.

Fourteen civil society leaders and representatives from the Georgian expert community openly addressed President Mikheil Saakashvili in a published paper on October 18, blowing the whistle against a perceived limitation of the freedom of expression and political opposition.