Irakli Kobakhidze: Demands for external judge appointments show European bureaucracy fails to grasp rule of law

“Proposals to appoint judges to Georgia’s courts from abroad demonstrate that the European bureaucracy fails to comprehend the principles of the rule of law, democracy, and constitutionalism,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told reporters today.

The head of government asserted that when EU officials voice concern over so-called arbitrary detainees, they are in effect demanding the release of individuals who threw Molotov cocktails and orchestrated attempts to overthrow the state.

“We see how low the European bureaucracy has sunk. Demanding that external actors appoint judges in Georgia proves what we have said all along: the European bureaucracy fails to grasp the meaning of the rule of law, democracy, or constitutionalism. That is why they put forward such proposals, which are frankly disgraceful,” Kobakhidze stated.

“When they speak of so-called ‘arbitrarily detained persons’, these are the very individuals who hurled Molotov cocktails, engaged in other acts of violence, announced and organised rallies aimed at overthrowing the government, or assaulted police officers,” the Prime Minister continued.

“They should have the decency to list these individuals by name and provide us with that list. We have repeatedly asked for it, yet they fail to produce one, because doing so would reveal that they are defending people who insulted police officers, committed heavy acts of violence, plotted a coup, and threw petrol bombs. This whole episode lays bare the grim state of today’s European bureaucracy,” Kobakhidze added.

The Prime Minister further alleged that Brussels’ insistence on releasing detainees indicates direct involvement in the unrest.

“There is no possible justification either for so-called vetting, which constitutes a direct assault on judicial independence, or for releasing these prisoners. How can the European bureaucracy demand the release of violent offenders? This only confirms our assertion that the European bureaucracy itself stood behind this violence, having funded the Molotov cocktail campaign. Specifically, the European Endowment for Democracy (EED), which receives direct funding from the EU, financed that campaign,” the Prime Minister claimed.