Georgian judge to challenge State Department sanctioning in US court
Georgian judge Irakli Shengelia, one of four sanctioned by the United States Department of State last week, on Monday said he was going to appeal the decision in a US court. Photo: InterPressNews
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Georgian judge Irakli Shengelia, one of four sanctioned by the United States Department of State last week, on Monday said he was going to appeal the decision in a US court.
The DoS on Wednesday sanctioned Shengelia, Mikheil Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze and Valerian Tsertsvadze under the visa restrictions authority, alleging they had “abused their positions as court chairmen and members of Georgia’s High Council of Justice, undermining the rule of law and the public’s faith in Georgia’s judicial system”.
I would like to inform the public that I am taking active steps to address the appropriate United States judicial authority and challenge the unprecedented, completely unjustified decision to sanction me on the most serious charge of engaging in corruption, which is directed against my dignity and reputation”, Shengelia said.
In his message on social media, Shengelia stressed he was “not going to get used” to being labelled as corrupt.
For me, the United States visa is not the main thing - I may never travel there - but the main thing is to protect the dignity and the business reputation that I believe to be the result of the conscientious and competent performance of my duties throughout my life”, he noted.
“Since the addressee of my lawsuit is a United States court, the lawsuit will be submitted to it in a certain time, after I decide on the organisational issues necessary for its submission. I am sure that the truth will prevail, and I will fully restore my violated rights”, Shengelia concluded.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday said the United States Department of State’s “personal attack” on four Georgian judges it had sanctioned on Wednesday, and its labelling of the individuals as “corrupt” was “absolutely unacceptable”, adding “partners do not act like that”.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday highlighted a lack of Western sanctions on the Georgian judiciary under the previous United National Movement Government, where he said the system had been used as a “repressive tool”, in comments following the United States Department of States’ sanctioning of four current and former Georgian judges.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday claimed “corruption processes” behind the United States Department of State’s decision to designate four Georgian former and current judges for sanctions for their “involvement in significant corruption”.
Archil Talakvadze, the Vice Speaker in the Georgian Parliament, on Thursday said the United States Department of State’s decision on Wednesday to impose sanctions on four Georgian judges was “unfair”, "absolutely unacceptable” and “incompatible” with the strategic cooperation between the states.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday claimed surveys confirmed citizens' trust in the domestic judiciary had “increased greatly”, in comments following a meeting with members of the High Council of Justice.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday vowed his support to Georgian judges following the sanctioning of four current and former professionals by the United States Department of State for alleged corruption.
Salome Samadashvili, an MP for the opposition Lelo party, on Monday criticised Levan Khaberishvili and Ana Tsitlidze, two leaders of the opposition United National Movement party, for their departure for a visit to Poland ahead of a vote on the creation of an investigative commission in the Georgian Parliament following the United States Government’s sanctioning of Georgian judges last week.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said “personal attacks” on judges of the country’s judiciary were “unacceptable” when allegations of them being “corrupt” came without a “single fact or evidence”, in comments on the United States Department of State’s sanctioning of four former and current judges in the country.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said the question of the opposition United National Movement party forming a Parliamentary investigative commission into the domestic judiciary following the United States Government’s sanctioning of Georgian judges could not be discussed “in any case”.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Georgian Parliament Speaker, on Monday urged the United States Department of State to lift the visa restrictions it imposed on three acting and one former Georgian judges for “significant corruption” in April “as soon as possible”, due to an “absence of evidence” against them.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said the United States’ decision in April to impose visa restrictions on three acting and one former Georgian judges for “significant corruption” had come “without evidence” and was a “gross violation” of the country’s judicial independence and its constitution.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday said Otar Partskhaladze - the former Prosecutor General of the country who was recently sanctioned by the United States Department of State for “influencing Georgian society and politics for the benefit of Russia” - had held “no connection” with state structures “for the last 10 years”.
The Georgian State Security Service on Friday said it was “studying” the sanctioning of Otar Partskhaladze, the former Prosecutor General of Georgia under the Georgian Dream Government, by the United States Department of State this week.
Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili on Friday said linking “any individual” associated with Western sanctions to the Georgian state was “speculation”, after the United States Department of State on Thursday announced sanctions on Otar Partskhaladze, the former Prosecutor General of Georgia, for “influencing Georgian society and politics for the benefit of Russia”.
The National Bank of Georgia on Monday restricted access to bank assets and financial transactions to Otar Partskhaladze, the former Prosecutor General of the country who was last week sanctioned by the United States Department of State for alleged ties with Russia.