Kobakhidze Speaks on Sanctioning of Four Georgian Judges

Irakli Kobakhidze, chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said in an interview with Imedi TV on April 5, shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced sanctions against four Georgian judges, that “the fact that the Secretary of State was directly smeared with such a statement is particularly worrying.” After speaking at length about attempts to politicize the Georgian judiciary, Kobakhidze also focused on a candidate status and attempts to open a “second front” in Georgia. He also slammed President Salome Zurabishvili and stressed the need to punish “violent protesters” at the March 7-9 rallies.

“A lot of attempts of political interference in the judicial system”

Irakli Kobakhidze claimed that “corruption processes” were behind the sanctions against Georgian judges, and said that “the fact that the Secretary of State [Anthony Blinken] was directly smeared with such a statement is particularly worrying. “It is very bad, it speaks badly of the people who convey this kind of information to the Secretary of State,” he stressed.

He then spoke of the attempts by “foreign agents” to “stigmatize” the judiciary, saying that “they have taken everything to a high level.” “Terms are being used, including a “clan”, they have introduced a new term-corporatism, etc. This is an attempt to stigmatize, they are trying to brand the judicial system with Soviet methods,” Kobakhidze said, adding that “there is also a political interest here in interfering with the independence of the judiciary and violating the independence of the court.”

As an example of an attempt to politicize the judiciary, he cited the Western partners’ demand that decisions concerning the judiciary be taken in the Parliament with the support of 2/3 of the opposition, which, according to Kobakhidze, “directly meant that the National Movement should have had a controlling stake in it. For example, judges should not have been appointed without the participation of the National Movement.”

“All this, including this latest statement, shows that they do not see us as a state, they do not recognize our statehood and, of course, we must defend our state interests to the end, we must show everyone that Georgia is a state,” Kobakhidze stressed.

He also claimed that the U.S. imposed sanctions on Georgian judges based on “zero evidence.” “Zero evidence, hidden from us? A crime was committed and they are hiding it from us? Or why are they hiding it from us? It is not serious, is it? If a crime has been committed, you should be interested in telling the other side about that crime, or at least telling the public about it… Okay, you don’t want NGO transparency, but at least be transparent here and tell the public that this or that judge has committed this or that crime. Why don’t you say so?” said the chairman of the ruling party.

He also recalled the judicial system under the National Movement, which, he said, was ruled by two men – former President Mikheil Saakashvili and former Prosecutor General Zurab Adeishvili, who “overcrowded prisons, turned [the court] into a tool for racketeering, and do you remember a single person who was sanctioned at that time?”

“We cannot allow a return to the situation that existed in the judiciary before 2012 and if someone wants to impose sanctions against someone, let them start with Saakashvili, whose release is actively demanded, let them start with Adeishvili, who is walking around Ukraine and Europe,” Irakli Kobakhidze said, adding that “we have the truth on our side, they have no truth on their side, that is the main thing.”

He also noted that they had “many other issues, including what they demanded of us during phone calls, etc.” Kobakhidze stressed, urging everyone to “follow the rules and act in accordance with these rules.”

“We will defend the sovereignty and independence of our state on all fronts, that is our firm position,” he said, reiterating that “the court must be independent.”

Irakli Kobakhidze also noted that the ruling team will discuss how to respond to the sanctions against Georgian judges, promising everyone, both in Georgia and abroad, that “no unfair action can interfere with the independence of the judiciary and we will never go back to the past, which is painfully remembered from 2004-2012, when the judiciary was run by the National Movement.”

Candidate Status – “By the end of June we will be fully compliant”

Irakli Kobakhidze also emphasized the importance of obtaining the EU candidate status, saying that by the end of June, the ruling team will complete all the reforms stipulated by the EC 12 priorities and the granting of the status will depend only on the EU. “By the end of June, we will be fully compliant,” he added.

Kobakhidze also noted that it would be a political decision and the ruling team would not be able to “figure it out” in advance. “The political decision is 50/50 at best, so we have to wait until December when the decision will be made,” he explained.

He also clarified that from a political point of view, candidate status for Georgia would be an “important decision” in itself, but added that “the public was misled about the consequences of this decision, as if the country would prosper immediately after receiving the status.” “This was a lie, candidate status did not mean any economic or financial benefits,” Irakli Kobakhidze added.

“Ukrainianization of Georgia is the ultimate goal”

Irakli Kobakhidze once again accused the “radical opposition” of “destabilizing” the processes in the country and trying to drag the country into the war in Ukraine, saying that “Ukrainianization of Georgia is the ultimate goal.” Kobakhidze claimed that the opposition was trying to use the “candidate status” as a pretext for raising expectations in society. “Given the exaggerated expectations, they hope that we will not be granted candidate status and against this background they want to create unrest in the country,” he said.

According to Kobakhidze, for this purpose they are “preparing youth groups, arming them with Molotov cocktails, preparing them to throw stones, burn cars, etc.” “But any destructive plan they have will fail… Our goal is to have peace and calmness in the country.”

After that, he said, opening a second front in the country might have been “attractive” to the authorities because, like the Ukrainian government officials, they would have been part of the “cohort of heroes” walking the “red carpet,” but “Ukrainianization was not something that could be exchanged for a red carpet in Congress or the House of Commons.”

In this regard, he recalled a meeting between him and Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and President Salome Zurabishvili in February 2022, where, he said, Salome Zurabishvili told him that “Zelensky is a hero, and you stay who you are.” “I was shocked,” Kobakhidze added.

Kobakhidze expressed hope that the President “does not think so today.” According to him, Salome Zurabishvili sometimes makes “strange” statements “but I hope that she will not allow herself to do anything inappropriate and will at least be principled.” “We have a lot of information; but I hope she will take a state-oriented position in critical moments,” the chairman of the ruling party said.

March 7-9 protests  

Commenting on the March 7-9 protests against the ruling majority’s bills on “foreign agents”, Irakli Kobakhidze said that the government would no longer allow the Parliament to be stormed and that it was necessary to enforce the law against any person suspected of brutal violence.

According to him, a police officer was nearly burned to death, government property was destroyed, buildings were damaged and police officers were stoned, resulting in causing injuries to dozens of law enforcement officers. “If there is no proper response, it will have an anti-preventive effect,” Kobakhidze said. He also claimed that opposition politicians were defending the protesters because “they served the implementation of their idea.”

In this context, Kobakhidze once again mentioned the Shame Movement, the Droa party and the so called Franklin Club established at the University of Georgia. According to him, these people oppose and are ashamed of everything related to “statehood” and “strength of the state.” “They oppose the legitimately elected authorities, the largest religious institution [the Orthodox Church],” he noted.

Asked about the ruling team’s attempts to discredit civil society, Irakli Kobakhidze replied that there is no civil society in Georgia today and that it was “washed away” under the previous government. “They artificially killed civil society and replaced it with [Eka] Gigauri and [Nino] Lomjaria,” he said, adding that the formation of a real civil society was one of the main “national tasks” facing the country today.

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