NGOs call for investigative commission to look into alleged pressure on judges

More than 10 non-governmental organizations working on human rights on Thursday called on members of parliament from the opposition to create an investigative commission to investigate the facts of possible pressure on judges, as several judges, including Natia Kutateladze, Ana Ghelekva and Besarion Alavidze, had accused the authorities of exerting pressure on them for favorable rulings.

“For the last few years, the non-governmental sector has been openly talking about the existence of an influential group of judges – a clan in the judicial system, with which the current and previous governments controlled the court The said group has been cooperating with political authorities for 15 years and uses various methods of illegal influence on the judge.

“The public statements of the former judges raise questions to which appropriate response is necessary in order to improve the judicial system and restore public trust in it,” the joint statement of non-governmental organizations reads.

A former judge of the Supreme Court, Besarion Alavidze, who made decisions on behalf of Georgia for 10 years, spoke about the pressure from the government on September 16. According to him, in some cases the members of the Supreme Council of Justice demanded the agreement of the rulings from the judges.

“A number of judges have been the object of persecution from their side, who were treated unfairly, or forced to leave the system, or forced to move to a lower instance court… I have not only understood such facts, I have also experienced them,” Alavidze said.

Soso Gogashvili, the former deputy head of the State Security Service, said in his social media post, that judges were really pressured by the authorities. 

Justice Minister Rati Bregadze said on Thursday that “no one would dare” to exert pressure on judges in Georgia”, calling on the individuals, who believe to have suffered pressure, to address law enforcement agencies.