Freedom of the Press
Pro-opposition TV station shutters broadcast for viewers outside Tbilisi
Mtavari’s General Director Giorgi Gabunia previously announced that the station was facing closure last month.
Mtavari Arkhi
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Freedom of the Press
Georgian pro-opposition TV channel ‘faces closure’ amid internal conflict
Live on air, Mtavari’s director accused a major shareholder of sabotage, claiming that he was colluding with Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.
2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections
Opposition TV channel sanctioned for refusing to air Georgian Dream election ad
The Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) satisfied the ruling Georgian Dream party’s complaint against the opposition channel Mtavari Arkhi, and has filed a violation protocol against the TV company for not airing its political advertisement. GNCC stated on Wednesday that according to Mtavari Arkhi, the advertisement’s placement might be against the prohibition of spreading hate speech as stated in the Broadcasting Law. During the pre-election period, all community broadcast
2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections
Gvaramia transfers Mtavari Arkhi shares to wife in move to politics
Nika Gvaramia has formally resigned as opposition TV Mtavari Arkhi’s general director, transferring his shares to his wife ahead of his return to politics. Gvaramia announced his departure from Mtavari Arkhi and the handover of his shares on Wednesday, stating that owning stakes in the channel was ‘incompatible with the party position that I will hold in the coming days’. ‘That’s why I complied with the requirements of the law and transferred the share to my [wife] Sofo [Liluashvili]’, said
Cybersecurity
‘Russian hackers’ take down websites of Georgian media and president
The websites of Georgia’s President and two leading TV stations have been temporarily taken offline in an apparent cyberattack by Russian hackers. The website of Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili was offline on Friday morning, with local media reporting that the site initially displayed a message attributing the attack to a Russian hacking network. Screenshots purportedly of the site showed the message ‘HACKED BY COZY BEAR SLAVA [glory to] RUSSIA’ on a black background with an image of
Freedom of the Press
Georgian president pardons Nika Gvaramia
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has pardoned Nika Gvaramia, the imprisoned head of pro-opposition TV channel Mtavari, three days after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction. Gvaramia was convicted by Tbilisi City Court in May 2022 for allegedly embezzling money as the director of another TV company, Rustavi 2. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. His imprisonment, widely seen as being politically motivated, had been condemned internationally, including by the US a
Corruption
Georgian Academy of Sciences head promises membership to PM in prank call
The newly appointed president of Georgia’s National Academy of Sciences has promised to grant full membership of the academy, a position known as ‘academician’, to the Prime Minister after being asked to do so by a journalist posing as one of the PM’s team. On Sunday, TV station Mtavari aired a phone conversation between journalist Beka Korshia and Roin Metreveli, the 83-year-old former Soviet official who was appointed to head the academy on 7 June. In the call, which took place on Metrevel
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