Media logo
Court

Rustavi 2 supporters rally in Tbilisi for ‘freedom of speech’

Rustavi 2 supporters rally in Tbilisi for ‘freedom of speech’

On 19 February, thousands of people gathered in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi to demonstrate their support for opposition TV station Rustavi 2.

On 18 February, Rustavi 2 halted their usual broadcasting in protest, instead displaying a message calling on people to join the rally.

Deputy director of Rustavi 2, Zaal Udumashvili, spoke at the rally. ‘Today, we have to tell the government that this country will never agree to the curbing of freedom of speech’, Udumashvili said.

Udumashvili told OC Media that the government was trying to take over Rustavi 2 using all possible institutions.

‘Today the issue of Rustavi 2’s  existence is in question. We will manage to save the TV station only if we consolidate our efforts in defending free speech in our country’, Udumashvili said.

(Sulkhan Bordzikashvili)

The rally was attended by both parliamentary and non-parliamentary opposition parties, students, journalists, and nongovernmental organisations. Their main slogan was ‘defending the freedom of speech’.

One of the organisers of the rally and member of the opposition United National Movement party, Nika Melia, told OC Media that the rally should be a signal to the government that people weren’t going to give Rustavi 2 up.

‘The government is acting directly against the free media, which has made the public loudly voice their complaint. This is a warning’, Melia said.

(Sulkhan Bordzikashvili)

The rally was also attended by journalist and editor of online media outlet Kronika+, Eliso Kaladze, who said that attending the rally wasn’t only to show support for Rustavi 2, but also to the judges who have found themselves under pressure from the government.

‘I hope that the Supreme Court will free itself from the severe psychological and moral pressure, which the State Security Service has exercised on them using their own media outlets. The judges need to know that society supports them’, Kiladze said.

A group of students also joined the rally. One student from the Georgian Technical University, Levan Laghidze, told OC Media that there was a struggle going on between two visions for Georgia’s future — the European choice and the Russian choice — and the transfer of the only opposition TV station into the hands of the government could impede the country’s democratic transition.

‘Today, I am here to defend freedom of speech. I have chosen Europe because this is the difference between freedom and Russian imperialism. I will protect this TV station even if I have to stay multiple nights at the rally’, Laghidze said.

(Sulkhan Bordzikashvili)

Last September, the general director of Rustavi 2, Nika Gvaramia, said that the Supreme Court judges were being pressured, although the chairman of the Supreme Court, Nino Gvenetadze denied this.

Businessman Kibar Khalvashi, who owned the TV station in 2004–2006, took Rustavi 2 to court in 2015 to demand shares in the station. Various opposition parties interpreted this as a scheme aimed at taking control of the TV station.

Khalvashi’s lawyer, Paata Salaia, said during a press conference that his client gave up his shares in 2006 as a result of direct pressure from then president Mikheil Saakashvili, and he was planning to win his shares back.

‘Attacks were carried out against businesses, and Kibar Khalvashi’s shares were violently seized from him. Under suspicious circumstances his warehouse, where he kept property worth several million dollars, was burnt down’, Salaia said.

Following an appeal, the court allocated a controlling share of Rustavi 2 to Khalvashi. The TV station appealed the decision, but the Court of Appeal upheld it.

The current owners of Rustavi 2 filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court, which has yet to  announce its decision.

In their 2016 report, Human Rights Watch criticised the authorities for interfering in the Rustavi 2 case.

‘Media pluralism was threatened by (…) a dispute involving past and present high-level officials’ alleged interference in the ownership and management of the most-watched television station, Rustavi 2’, the report reads.

Related Articles

Silence in the courtroom: how one of Chechnya’s last human rights defenders was convicted on drug charges
Chechnya

Silence in the courtroom: how one of Chechnya’s last human rights defenders was convicted on drug charges

V

On 18 March, Chechen human rights defender Oyub Titiyev was sentenced to four years in prison on trumped-up drug charges. He is only the latest victim in Russia’s repressions against civil society in the North Caucasus. ‘Let justice reign!’ reads the banner hanging over the compound of the court house in Shali, Chechnya. The slogan is accompanied by a strict-looking Akhmat Kadyrov, the North Caucasus republic’s former leader. Next to the courthouse, there’s a new business centre (‘Shali-

Court in Ingushetia considers ‘falsified’ vote on Chechnya land deal
Chechen-Ingush Land Deal

Court in Ingushetia considers ‘falsified’ vote on Chechnya land deal

Avatar

A court in the Russian Republic of Ingushetia has begun considering allegations that the parliamentary vote approving a land deal with neighbouring Chechnya was falsified. The controversial deal, which handed around 340 square kilometres (about 9% of Ingushetia’s territory) to Chechnya, was signed by the heads of Ingushetia and Chechnya on 26 September 2018. On 4 October 2018, MPs from Ingushetia’s regional parliament, the People’s Assembly, approved the deal 17-4 in a secret ballot, lead

Trial begins of Chechen rights activist Oyub Titiyev
Chechnya

Trial begins of Chechen rights activist Oyub Titiyev

Avatar

The trial of human rights activist Oyub Titiyev, who heads the Chechen branch of Russian rights group Memorial, kicked off on 18 July in Chechnya’s Shali District Court. Titiyev, who has been in custody since January, is charged with possession of large quantities of cannabis; Titiyev and his defence team reject the accusation, claiming the drugs were planted on him and that the case is politically motivated. Since his arrest in January, Titiyev’s detention has been repeatedly prolonged

South Ossetian court: prosecutors committed ‘procedural violations’ against journalist Mearakishvili
Court

South Ossetian court: prosecutors committed ‘procedural violations’ against journalist Mearakishvili

Avatar

A South Ossetian court has ruled that the local prosecutor’s office committed procedural violations when dismissing a complaint by journalist Tamara Mearakishvili. Mearakishvili told OC Media she had complained regarding the ‘inaction of the general prosecutor’s office’ while investigating her for slander. The ruling United Ossetia party filed a complaint against her for slander in August, after which the prosecutor’s office launched a criminal investigation. Investigators reportedly urged

Most Popular

Editor‘s Picks