US State Department sanctions on Georgian judges raise questions – ruling party MP

Mikheil Sarjveladze, an MP of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said the latest decision of the US Department of State to impose sanctions on four Georgian judges, had raised “serious question marks”.

 

“When there is such an accusation against the representatives of the judiciary in Georgia, an independent country, I cannot blindly trust, because an authoritative person or a strategic partner state said to me”, Sarjveladze told Imedi TV.  

 

He claimed it was unclear why Valerian Tsertsvadze, who left the court six years ago, had appeared in the list. 

 

The State Department on Wednesday imposed visa restrictions on Mikheil Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze, Irakli Shengelia and Valerian Tsertsvadze for their alleged “involvement in significant corruption”, and “abusing 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”.