“Hey Matthew, are you kidding my friend?” - In Georgia, trust in the judicial system is over 50%. In your country, America, there is only 25% trust, - Georgian Dream MP Irakli Zarkua told reporters in response to the statement of US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller.

As Zarkua noted, the judges of the independent court of Georgia were sanctioned and are still waiting for the justification of the reasons.

"Hey Matthew, are you kidding my friend? What are you talking about? Judges of the independent court of Georgia have been sanctioned, we are still waiting for the justification of the reasons. Let me remind you of another case. Judge Chkhikvadze, who was sanctioned because he made a decision regarding Gvaramia, who stole several million from Rustavi 2. The case was then appealed to Strasbourg, which said that it would not consider it at all, because Chkhikvadze's decision was fair and objective. You and the embassy who bullied these judges and his family members should apologize. What rule of law are you talking about? Among them, according to your surveys, Georgia is ahead of 7 EU states, including 11 NATO states, in terms of the rule of law. In Georgia, trust in the judicial system is more than 50%. In your country, only 25%. What are you talking about my friend? I am surprised", said Zarkua.

For information, regarding the sanctioned Georgian judges, the US State Department Spokesperson, Matthew Miller, calls on "the authorities to take steps to hold corrupt actors accountable”.

“The three sanctions were put in place to promote accountability for malign actors who’ve benefitted from impunity as well as worked to undermine the rule of law and the Georgian public’s faith in their judicial system. And in terms of communications with the Government of Georgia, of course we encourage that government to take steps to promote accountability for corrupt actors”, said the Spokesperson.