Prepared by Messenger Staff
Sanctioned Supreme Court Judge Shalva Tadumadze Appointed Deputy Interior Minister
Shalva Tadumadze, a sanctioned Supreme Court judge and chairman of the Chamber of Criminal Affairs, has been appointed as the deputy to Georgian Dream's Minister of Internal Affairs, Vakhtang Gomelauri.
Tadumadze, who is under sanctions from Lithuania and Ukraine, brings a controversial background to his new role. Since 2019, he has served as Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of Georgia and held a lifetime appointment as a Supreme Court judge.
Previously, Tadumadze held prominent government positions, including Chief Prosecutor of Georgia from 2018 to 2019 and head of the administration of the Government of Georgia.
However, his qualifications for the Supreme Court have been challenged. Transparency International (TI) has raised concerns over the absence of evidence confirming that Tadumadze meets the mandatory educational requirements for the role, such as holding a master's degree or its equivalent.
Kakha Kaladze Denies Knowledge of Shaishmelashvili's Claims About Rally Crackdowns
Kakha Kaladze, General Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, stated he was unaware of an interview given by former senior official Irakli Shaishmelashvili to TV Pirveli. In the interview, Shaishmelashvili claimed close ties between Bidzina Ivanishvili and Zviad Kharazishvili, nicknamed Khareba, suggesting that orders for breaking up protests may have come directly from Ivanishvili.
"Who is Shaishmelashvili? No, I don't know, I haven't heard [the interview]," Kaladze responded when questioned by journalists.
When pressed further, Kaladze defended the actions of law enforcement during protests, asserting that the police acted independently to maintain public order.
"As for the demonstrations, I state with full responsibility that the police act independently to maintain public order. We have witnessed specific incidents and numerous examples where violent protesters approached the police, verbally and physically abused them, and threw Molotov cocktails, heavy objects, and stones. Naturally, there is always a reaction to such actions. Believe me, if there were no violence, not a single person would have been harmed," said Kaladze.
