Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG) has opened an investigation under the article of sabotage after the pro-government television station Imedi was unable to broadcast for around 45 minutes.
On Monday evening, Imedi reported on Facebook that their broadcasting had been ‘suddenly cut off [at 17:48] for approximately 45 minutes for an unknown reason’.
Their statement emphasised that they did not rule out the possibility the malfunction was a ‘criminal act against the channel’, and therefore contacted law enforcement agencies.
Subsequently, the SSG announced they were launching an investigation under the article of sabotage, defined as ‘obstructing the normal functioning of a state or other enterprise, institution, organisation, or service for the purpose of weakening Georgia’. The crime carries a penalty of two to four years in prison.
The SSG’s statement also noted that broadcasting had been stopped for two other companies — Maestro and GDS — both owned by Imedi’s parent company TeleImedi.
Such investigations are rare, as broadcast interruptions of this kind are uncommon.
In February, the opposition-leaning TV Pirveli reported that its main fiber-optic cable had been damaged under unclear circumstances, cutting off connections between its studio and external broadcasting units. At the time, the channel said it was awaiting more details from the service provider about whether the cable had been damaged or deliberately cut, though no updates followed.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
