"Georgia follows the same playbook as Russia and Belarus," said Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, during an online address to the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

Salome Zurabishvili spoke about the laws passed in the Georgian Parliament today and noted that the "aligned parliament and government" are implementing a playbook that is "clearly not written in Georgia."

According to Zurabishvili, there is not a single independent institution left in the country, meaning the state is under complete control.

"It is the same playbook as in Russia and Belarus. To give an example, just today, Parliament passed three different laws. Of course, there are no debates in Parliament at all – laws go through three committee stages in just three days.

The first is the so-called American FARA law, which is simply the new 'Russian law' that gives the government more power to restrict and suppress NGOs.

The second reintroduces the article on 'treason' into the criminal code, which existed during Soviet times.

The third imposes additional restrictions on the media, including financial and content control. There are also side laws concerning the public service, requiring state employees to obtain authorization from their direct superiors if they wish to participate in educational activities.

All of this happened in one day. It shows the speed at which the aligned Parliament and government are implementing a playbook that is clearly not written in Georgia, as they represent only one party and one man – Mr. Ivanishvili.

It is also important to note that, at this stage, there is not a single independent institution left in Georgia. The one-party rule has taken over all institutions, appointing people in the judiciary, the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, and even the central bank – which, just yesterday, held a meeting with China’s central bank. They control all regulatory commissions, including one that regulates the media.

This is complete state capture," Zurabishvili stated.