Judges from Georgia not to visit US out of solidarity with sanctioned colleagues

At least three judges from Georgia have refused to travel to the United States to study in solidarity with the judges against whom Washington imposed sanctions.

Dmitry Gvritishvili, a member of the Supreme Council of Justice of Georgia, wrote about this on Facebook on April 13, TASS reports.

"This month (April 22-30), a training visit of Georgian judges to the United States is planned. As a member of the Supreme Council of Justice of Georgia, it learned that three judges to visit [the US] - Nana Dzhokhadze, Tamara Bezhanishvili and Konstantin Kopaliani - refused to travel, about which they officially submitted applications to the council," wrote Gvritishvili.

He added that such a decision of the judges is an act of solidarity, since "there is a clear unfair and humiliating approach to the Georgian judges on the part of the US representatives".

Later, Badri Kochlamazashvili also refused the trip.

"As you know, a study visit was planned in the USA, in which I also participated. His goal was only professional development, and there was no reason to attach any other importance to it. However, based on the fact that the visit has acquired a distinct political significance and the trip or refusal of the trip of some judges has become the subject of political assessments, taking into account the strict specifics of my profession, I refuse such a visit, which has acquired political content in addition to professional," the judge wrote on Facebook.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on April 5 that Washington had imposed visa restrictions on three current and one former judge because they had been involved in corruption. Mikhail Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze, Irakli Shengelia and Valerian Tsertsvadze fell under restrictive measures. Chinchaladze is the chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeal, Murusidze is a Supreme Council of Justice member, and Shengelia is a judge of the Tbilisi Court of Appeal. In response to this decision, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said that the sanctions imposed would harm friendly relations between the two countries if the US did not provide evidence of corruption.