Irakli Kobakhidze Responds to Kelly Degnan's Criticism of Supreme Court's Decision in Nika Gvaramia Case
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, June 22, 2023
Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of the Georgian Dream party, responded to a question about the Nika Gvaramia case, stating that they adhere to a standard different from the American Embassy. He emphasized that when a court issues a decision, political comments are unnecessary.
Specifically, Kobakhidze was asked to evaluate the statement made by the US Ambassador to Georgia, Kelly Degnan, who expressed disappointment with the Supreme Court's decision regarding the Gvaramia case.
Kobakhidze stated that Gvaramia is currently serving a sentence for a specific crime, emphasizing that this case should not be linked to Georgia's EU candidacy status.
"We do not get involved in this case, therefore, we refrain from making assessments. Unlike the American Embassy, we adhere to the standard. The standard is that when the court makes a certain decision, there is no need for political comments. There is no connection between Gvaramia's case and the candidacy status, there can be no connection between Gvaramia's case and the candidacy status. You all know that Gvaramia is not a media manager, nothing is written anywhere. Logically, there can be no connection between Gvaramia's release and the candidacy status. Gvaramia is serving a sentence for a specific crime, he stole 7 million GEL from a private TV company, from a free media, because he knew that he had to give this company to the rightful owner. I remember that at the time when the Supreme Court issued a decision regarding Rustavi 2, the American Embassy's statement on this topic was also published. Even then, they condemned the Supreme Court's decision, even though the Strasbourg Court later confirmed that the Supreme Court's decision was fair. Accordingly, the Strasbourg court also determined that the American embassy's statement at that time was absolutely groundless and unfair. They are doing it again, which is unacceptable," Kobakhidze stated.
Kobakhidze criticized the embassy's statement, claiming it was an effort to politicize justice. He acknowledged that there was a previous instance where illegal actions were overlooked, leading to pressure on Judge Chkhikvadze and a violation of court independence. Kobakhidze expressed regret for turning a blind eye at that time and warned against repeating the mistake. He viewed the current attempt to interfere with the court as unprecedented and unacceptable, emphasizing that such statements should not be made by future ambassadors. Kobakhidze condemned any gross interference in the independence of justice.
"This statement of the embassy is an attempt to politicize justice. At one time, we somehow turned a blind eye to an absolutely illegal action, which was connected to the pressure on Judge Chkhikvadze. This was also a violation of the independence of the court. Perhaps we should not have turned a blind eye, because it continued, and once again we see an absolutely unheard-of attempt to interfere with the court. It is not correct to make such statements. I hope that such statements will not be made under the next ambassador. Such a gross interference in the independence of justice is unacceptable," said Kobakhidze.
