Chkhikvadze's confession - statement of the judge in Nika Gvaramia's case

Lasha Chkhikvadze, the judge in Mtavari Channel CEO Nika Gvaramia's case, released a statement. He says that after the announcement of the verdict in the Rustavi 2 case he had a meeting with the representative of the US Embassy, from US Department of Justice Kevin Burke, who informed him that the ambassador asked why he made such a verdict and especially why he used imprisonment as a punishment.

Chhikvadze writes that he estimates it was a request for a report related to a specific case.

The judge's statement is being broadcast by the state media, one of the parties interested in the case, and we offer it unchanged:

"After hearing MEP Michael Gahler's statement to the Court of Appeals about the case of Nika Gvaramia, where in my estimation he is putting direct pressure on the court and directly telling the Court of Appeals that Tuesday Next week, July 19, when the trial is scheduled, to acquit Gvaramia in the first trial and In order to correct old mistakes (that is, that I allegedly made), I decided to make the following statement: As you know, Mr. Gahler is a German politician who has been a member of the European Parliament for many years, and I just wonder if he would put such pressure on the judges of his country and give them direct instructions on a particular criminal case. And most importantly, what would be the reaction to such an action in his home country?

I will explain the following in this regard:

Of course, the Court of Appeal can make any decision, including acquittal, and in this particular case I have no personal, and moreover no political interest towards the defendants, but in my opinion, the statement of MEP Gahler is a direct pressure on my colleagues that must consider the case in a higher court and on whom an open pressure is already starting and will surely intensify (I have personal experience of it, unfortunately).

After I announced the verdict in the Nika Gvaramia case I had a meeting at the Tbilisi City Court building with one of the US Embassy officials (Kevin Burke from the US Department of Justice), who interviewed me about the facts of the case and told me that the ambassador was wondering why I had reached a guilty verdict in the case and especially why I had used imprisonment as a punishment. In my estimation, it was a request for a report on a particular case. And this was followed by the fact that just a few days later we were going to a scheduled visit to the USA (where 6 judges of criminal profile) and where everything was already written, unfortunately my participation would be undesirable and I was excluded from the list.

This situation was unexpected for me. However, this is not the end, and now some political forces are threatening me with "sanctions" because of the outcome of the hearing of this particular case, and I do not want my fellow judges to go through the same thing, who, as is already clear, will have to hear this case under extreme pressure.

Finally, I would like to call on the political parties, the diplomatic corps, international and non-governmental organizations operating in Georgia to refrain from pressuring the court and allow the judges to administer justice in a peaceful environment and make decisions based on the constitution, law and inner faith."