The Helsinki Commission of the US Congress is calling on President Salome Zurabishvili to pardon political prisoners in Georgia, including Nika Gvaramia, founder of the Mtavari Arkhi television company.
US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan says that pardoning Nika Gvaramia is the prerogative of Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili only, and is confident that Zurabishvili will take into account all opinions, including the recommendations of the Helsinki Commission, when making a decision.
“As ardent supporters of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration and defense of its democracy, we believe your assistance will be a critical step in preventing politically motivated prosecutions.”
I urge you to pardon Nika Gvaramia, who was arrested in May 2022 on charges of abuse of office and embezzlement,” a congressmen of the Helsinki Commission wrote in a bipartisan letter.
The letter from the Helsinki Commission is not the first concerning Nika Gvaramia. Before that, the European Parliament by an absolute majority adopted a resolution calling on the Georgian authorities to release the country’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili and Nika Gvaramia. In addition, they expressed their concern about the apparent sudden departure of the Georgian government from Western and democratic values.
“The Helsinki Commission is a respected organization mandated by the US Congress to oversee the protection of human rights around the world, including the defense of media freedom.
The organization, like the embassy, has made it clear that the Gvaramia case is a matter of concern, including the initial charges, the timing of those charges, and the subsequent prison sentence. So, this is a letter from an organization that has been a friend and supporter of Georgia’s democratic development, progress and European integration for many years.
In the end, of course, the decision to pardon is the prerogative of only Ms. Zurabishvili, and I am sure that she will take into account all the opinions, including those of the Helsinki Commission, when making a decision,” Degnan said.
Before Easter, Salome Zurabishvili pardoned ten convicts, but Nika Gvaramia was not among them.
The case of the founder of Mtavari Arkhi was included in the latest report of the US State Department. The subsections of the document relating to political prisoners and freedom of speech refer to the arrest of Gvaramiy.
The report emphasizes that the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia, local civil society and international human rights organizations sharply criticized the decision of the Tbilisi City Court of May 16, 2022, according to which Nika Gvaramia was sentenced to imprisonment.
The White House, citing Amnesty International, wrote that Gvaramia’s case revealed the “growing influence of the government on the courts in a number of cases” aimed at suppressing their critics and opponents.
The US State Department report also mentions that the Georgian Ombudsman and non-governmental organizations regarded Gvaramia’s case as political persecution. According to them, journalists, NGOs and the international community have expressed serious concerns about the government’s respect for free speech.
Nika Gvaramia was sentenced on May 16, 2022 in court to three and a half years in prison on charges that he used a company car for personal purposes.
