The Ruling Party Uses Justice Issues for Propaganda and Party Interests

• Wednesday, 21 August 2024
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The Coalition for Independent and Transparent Judiciary is deeply concerned about the persecution of judges with dissenting views and the manipulation of justice issues for propaganda and party interests by the government.

On August 20, 2024, the ruling party issued a statement that, alongside with containing disinformation and propaganda, criticized Tbilisi City Court Judge Eka Areshidze's decision on the Khorava Street Case. The ruling party criticized Judge Areshidze's decision because it did not fully align with the prosecutor's charges.

The accusations made by the Georgian Dream are unjustified. This lack of justification is demonstrated by the resolution regarding the results of the parliamentary investigation of the Khorava Street case, which was initiated and supported by the ruling party. By supporting the resolution, Georgian Dream indirectly affirmed the validity of the judge's decision. In particular, the resolution states that “certain investigative actions have not been conducted or have been delayed” in the case. The conclusion of the resolution also explicitly recommends that “the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia conduct an official audit within their agencies to identify any legal violations by those responsible for the investigation and take appropriate legal action.”

The Georgian Dream has targeted a judge who has often voiced dissenting, critical opinions on processes in the judiciary and ongoing reforms. Judge Eka Areshidze is also a co-author of the constitutional lawsuit challenging the highly criticized amendments to the Organic Law of Georgia “On Common Courts” adopted in December 2021.

Political attacks on judges who hold differing opinions have become a hallmark of the Georgian Dream. For instance, this year, Irakli Kobakhidze accused a Supreme Court judge of being dishonest for supporting the European Commission's recommendation to establish an extraordinary mechanism for assessing judicial integrity in the country.

The statement issued on August 20 demonstrates that the ruling political power does not hesitate to put pressure on judges with dissenting opinions or positions, to instrumentalize justice and implicate judges in conspiracy theories.