Ruling party head slams US for sanctioning Georgian judges, claims move “discredits” Blinken

Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday slammed the US Department of State for its latest decision to impose sanctions on four Georgian judges, claiming those providing “fake” information to the American body had “discredited” the US State Secretary Antony Blinken. 

 

“It is particularly disturbing that the State Secretary Blinken was directly discredited by making such a statement. I will say directly, corruption was mentioned in the [Department of State]  statement, while the corruption processes are behind the move itself. As you know, corruption is not only about money”, Kobakhidze said. 

 

“Of course, we all understand that Blinken does not think about Georgia round the clock, he has much more to do. When such rough documents are brought to him, it is, of course, very serious and speaks of the corrupt processes that are the basis of all this”, Kobakhidze claimed. 

 

The US Department of State on Wednesday said senior Georgian judges Mikheil Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze, Irakli Shengelia, and Valerian Tsertsvadze 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”. 

 

“The United States continues to stand with all Georgians in support of democracy and the rule of law and will continue to promote accountability for those who abuse public power for personal gain.  We stand with all judges who have the integrity and courage to act impartially and independently”, it added. 

 

Blinken tweeted following the decision that  “today I designated four Georgian former and current officials for significant corruption, making them ineligible to enter the United States. We stand with the government and people of Georgia in their efforts to advance transparency and democratic governance”.