Parliament Speaker: “no evidence” from US on sanctioned judges, former Prosecutor General
Shalva Papuashvili said the US Department of State had presented “no evidence” backing its sanctioning of Georgian judges and former Prosecutor General. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
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Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday said the United States Department of State had presented “no evidence” backing its sanctioning of Georgian judges and former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze seven and one month from the decisions respectively.
Papuashvili was commenting on the State Department’s sanctioning in April of four senior judges - Mikheil Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze, Irakli Shengelia and Valerian Tsertsvadze - for their alleged “involvement in significant corruption”, and in September for Partskhaladze, who was sanctioned for “influencing Georgian society and politics for the benefit of Russia”.
It is a general human and legal rule that the one who accuses must prove it. This is an elementary rule that is thousands of years old, has been in effect on this planet and is in effect in every country, including the US. Precisely because it is in the interest of our country, our state appealed to three different agencies of the US [...] unfortunately, no evidence was presented”, the Speaker said.
Papuashvili questioned the motivation of the Department for the sanctions but said he would refrain from “speculating on this matter”.
We look forward to [working with] the new US Ambassador [to Georgia]”, Papuashvili said in reference to the recent arrival of Robin Dunnigan as the new US diplomat in Georgia, adding “it would be a good step if the US lifted the visa restrictions imposed on four Georgian citizens, considering that seven months have passed and the fact is that the US itself does not have an answer about it”.
The Parliament official said the move “would be one of the good signs of the implementation of the spirit of strategic partnership between Georgia and the US”.
Grigol Liluashvili, the head of the Georgian State Security Service, on Thursday said Tbilisi had not received “any evidence” from the United States which could prove the guilt of Otar Partskhaladze, the former Prosecutor General of Georgia who was sanctioned by the State Department in September for his alleged cooperation with the Russian intelligence.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Tuesday signed a decree terminating the citizenship of the United States-sanctioned former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, as well as vetoed the amendments to the law of Georgia on Assemblies and Manifestations, the Presidential Administration said.
The Public Service Development Agency of the Justice Ministry on Wednesday said it had deemed it appropriate to terminate the Georgian citizenship of the United States-sanctioned former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze.
Georgian judges Levan Murusidze and Valerian Tsertsvadze on Thursday called the decision of the United States Department of State to impose travel restrictions on them for alleged corruption “unfair” and “politically grounded”.