Investigator Interviews Constitutional Court Chair over Alleged Pressure

An investigator from the Prosecutor’s Office interviewed Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Giorgi Papuashvili, on August 4 as part of ongoing probe into alleged pressure on the 9-member Court.

The investigation was launched after Papuashvili said at a news conference on July 21 that “some of the judges” of the Constitutional Court were “pressured” and “blackmailed” to either rule in favor of the authorities or drag out verdicts in several high-profile cases.

Investigator from the Prosecutor’s Office, Beka Kvitsiani, who arrived at the Constitutional Court in Batumi to gather information from Papuashvili, declined to comment after the interview, telling journalists that the Prosecutor’s Office would make the statement later.

After completing interviews with eight other members of the Constitutional Court, Prosecutor’s Office said on August 1 that all those eight judges denied being a target of the reported pressure.