Tbilisi City Court Judge Lasha Chkhikvadze, who handed down the conviction for Director General of Mtavari Arkhi Nika Gvaramia, stated he was asked to clarify his ruling to US Ambassador Kelly Degnan.

Lasha Chkhikvadze said he met with the US Embassy representative in the Tbilisi City Court. According to him, this circumstance was “astonishing” for him, and he was further disqualified from the US-funded program as a “sanction.”

Chkhikvadze said he also heard MEP Michael Gahler’s statement about Nika Gvaramia, saying the Court of Appeals should acquit Nika Gvaramia during the trial scheduled for July 19. The judge accused Michael Gahler of pressuring the court.

“Political parties, diplomats, Georgian and international non-governmental organizations should refrain from pressuring the court and judges, and should allow them to carry out their duties in a calm environment under the Georgian constitution, law, and internal faith,” says Lasha Chkhikvadze in a statement released by Rustavi 2 TV.

The verdict allegedly 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.