Ivanishvili's lawyers accuse European media of censorship

JAMnews

Tbilisi

Ivanishvili and media

In a dispute with Swiss bank Credit Suisse, the law firm of Bidzina Ivanishvili has accused European media of censoring information.

The company that protects Ivanishvili’s interests notes that not only Swiss, but also other European media used censorship.

The lawyers say that last year Swiss media did not publish information provided by lawyers criticizing the management of Credit Suisse. Now other European and British media have refused to publish related articles.

“First, from the text that we provided, the information that specifically related to the management of the bank was completely removed. Then … the media’s position completely changed: all suggestions that were somehow connected with the management of Credit Suisse shifted.

“Employees of these media could easily check all the information in the bank itself. Instead, we were denied the initial release of the information, which is surprising and disappointing,” their statement says.

It also mentions that Ivanishvili intends to “give the media a chance” to publish this information.

Ivanishvili has had several legal disputes with the Swiss bank and has accused Credit Suisse of delaying transfers and of political pressure. Representatives of Georgian Dream say that by creating problems in the Swiss bank, the West and in particular the United States is trying to put pressure on Ivanishvili to drag Georgia into a war against Russia.

On January 26, 2023, representatives of Bidzina Ivanishvili published a letter in the international press stating that Ivanishvili was under political pressure in his legal dispute with Credit Suisse.

In a resolution adopted on December 14, the European Parliament called on the European Council and democratic partners to impose sanctions against Ivanishvili as the person responsible for the deterioration of democratic processes in Georgia.