Public Defender’s Office said it had asked the Interior Ministry and prosecutor’s office to reveal based on which article of criminal code they initiated investigation into production of videos mocking head of Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II.

The law enforcement agencies said on November 1 that they were carrying out “preliminary investigation,” but refused to make public based on what and on which legal grounds they decided to start probing.

“The Public Defender hopes, that [the Interior Ministry and prosecutor’s office] will provide information; the matter concerns such fundamental principle of human rights as freedom of expression,” the Public Defender’s Office said.