US Embassy in Georgia excludes Nika Gvaramia's judge from training program in Florida
Nika Gvaramia’s judge excluded from US training program
According to Formula TV, the court’s politicized decision in the case of Nika Gvaramia prompted the US Embassy to exclude Judge Lasha Chkhikvadze from the advanced training program.
Under this program, Lasha Chkhikvadze was supposed to go to Florida for a seminar, fully paid for by the embassy.
A few days ago, during a meeting with US Ambassador Kelly Degnan, representatives of the opposition media outlet demanded that sanctions be imposed on judge Lasha Chkhikvadze. However, it is not known whether this request is the reason for Chkhikvadze’s exclusion from the program.
Assistant judge Tamar Pkhakadze told Formula that she had no information about the seminar.
Judge Lasha Chkhikvadze himself refuses to comment on the information received by Formula TV
On May 16, Nika Gvaramia, director general of the opposition Mtavari TV channel was arrested in court. Gvaramia was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for using a company car for family needs.
Independent experts, representatives of public organizations and politicians consider Gvaramia’s arrest politically motivated.
The process was sharply praised by the US embassy as “a disturbing pattern of selective investigations and prosecutions of individuals opposed to the current government”.
The heads of four opposition TV channels in Georgia call on the West not to let the oligarchic regime “completely destroy democracy in the country”.
