Irakli Kobakhidze Says Georgian Dream Has Asked for Evidence on Sanctioned Judges
By Liza Mchedlidze
Monday, April 10, 2023
The Chairman of Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobakhidze spoke about US imposed sanctions on four judges and said that there was a request from the management team to clarify what evidence and sources the US decision was based on.
According to Kobakhidze, because the Georgian government asked for evidence, the US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan had to 'back down' and say that it is a visa restriction and not a sanction.
Georgian Dream chair said that information obtained from open sources can not be used as a basis of sanctions:
"There were many meetings and at every meeting this question was asked, where is the evidence? Zero evidence - this became clear both in bilateral meetings and in public. Look at the TV interviews with the US Ambassador, there is zero evidence there either. It is not clear how it can be based on open source. Open source means you have to read a newspaper or watch TV, we all watch TV and we all read newspapers. How can information obtained from open sources become the basis for sanctions?
After all, this needs investigation and research, it needs an investigation, which did not happen. Actually, there is no evidence and it has been revealed. It was because we asked for evidence that the ambassador had to back down and say that this is not a sanction, but a similar thing. This is a visa restriction, not a sanction. In fact, it was a drawback because we demanded evidence," Kobakhidze said.
When asked whether the government thinks that there is a possibility that it may be a decision based on wrong information, Irakli Kobakhidze said that Anony Blinken is obviously not to blame for this and the questions should probably be asked to the US Ambassador Kelly Degnan and the US Embassy.
"Now, Blinken is not guilty, is it not clear? Blinken, of course, cannot delve into the ongoing processes in Georgia, he has much more to do. Blinken is not the person to ask questions. Perhaps we should ask the Ambassador who is here, we should ask the embassy," said Kobakhidze.
