EspañolThe following press release was distributed to media today:
WASHINGTON DC, February 17, 2025 – International law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP welcomes the report published today by Transparency International Georgia, which condemns the Tbilisi show trial underway against the firm’s client, George Bachiashvili, orchestrated by Bidzina Ivanishvili, “the de facto ruler of Georgia.”
According to Transparency, the case against Bachiashvili is so weak that “in any legal system based on the rule of law, such charges would not only be inconceivable but would never even reach court proceedings.”
The internationally respected NGO, which has been observing the trial, asserts that “the charges against [George] Bachiashvili are devoid of both legal and factual grounds”, and lack the evidence that would permit any independent and impartial tribunal to convict Bachiashvili.
Among the grave concerns raised by this show trial, Transparency provides details of an attempt by Ivanishvili to extort Bachiashvili in a ploy to “settle” the case. The amount extorted was set to increase monthly beginning in April 2024, to pressure Bachiashvili to capitulate sooner, or else to pay more for the case to go away. This nefarious scheme, not denied by Ivanishvili, highlights, according to Transparency, “the extent of Ivanishvili’s influence, including over the administration of justice.”
Indeed, according to Transparency, the country’s prosecution and judiciary are “in the service of Ivanishvili’s private interests” in the case. Ivanishvili has not only “captured all state institutions” and is “exerting unilateral control over them” but has also “derailed Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future” and left the country “vulnerable to Russia”, Transparency said.
Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP, who recently denounced the rigged show trial ordered by Ivanishvili, and called for strengthened sanctions against Georgia, welcomed Transparency’s statement. The renowned human rights lawyer said: “Transparency is one of the most respected NGOs in the world, and I hail their courage both for openly observing my client’s trial, and for speaking the truth to power in Georgia.”
Earlier in 2025, Amsterdam & Partners published a new paper, “Countdown: How to Hold Bidzina Ivanishvili Accountable for his Assault on Democracy, His Kleptocratic Theft of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic Future, and the Show Trial against George Bachiashvili.” The paper, which serves as an afterword to the May 2024 white paper on the Bachiashvili case, contains testimony from former members of the Georgian judiciary who accuse Ivanishvili of manipulating the judicial system for his own private interests, including via the so-called “Clan of Judges,” who were sanctioned by the US government in 2023.
“Countdown” can be downloaded at www.bidzinaslaw.com and more information about the firm is available at www.amsterdamandpartners.com.
Transparency International’s statement is available at https://transparency.ge.
Amsterdam & Partners LLP is an international law firm with offices in London and Washington DC. More information is available at www.amsterdamandpartners.com.
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