Activists have asked the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, to pardon Nika Gvaramii, the creator of the TV channel “Mtavari Arkhi”, during a rally at the presidential palace, saying his arrest damages Georgia’s reputation.
They call for a decision to pardon Gvaramia, taking into account the recommendations of the European Commission, in accordance with the assessments of international and local organizations and the Public Defender.
NGOs call on the Supreme Court to consider the ongoing criminal case against Nika Gvaramia in a timely, objective and impartial manner.
“The case of Nika Gvaramia is directly related to the recommendations of the European Commission (the seventh of 12) that have yet to be implemented. As a result of these recommendations, “increased efforts are required to ensure a free, professional, pluralistic and independent media environment, especially to ensure that criminal proceedings against media owners meet the highest legal standards, and to conduct impartial, effective and timely investigations into cases of threats. the safety of journalists and other media workers,” the appeal says.
The case of the founder of the “Mtavari Arkhi” channel was included in the last report of the US Department of State. In the subsections of the document, concerning political prisoners and freedom of speech, it is said about the arrest of Niki Gvaramia.
It is emphasized that the office of the public defender, the local civil society and the international human rights organizations have sharply criticized the decision of the Tbilisi City Court on May 16, according to which Nika Gvaramia was sentenced to imprisonment.
The White House wrote with reference to Amnesty International that the Gvaramia case revealed “the growing influence of the government on the courts in a number of cases”, aimed at suppressing critics and opponents of the authorities.
In the report of the State Department of the USA, it is also mentioned that the public defender and non-governmental organizations considered the Gvaramia case as political persecution. According to their words, journalists, non-governmental organizations and the international community expressed serious concern about the government’s right to freedom of speech.
Nika Gvaramia was arrested on May 16, 2022 in court. The head of the critical media was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for an episode in which he was accused of using an official car for family needs.
