Communications Commission fines Mtavari Arkhi for airing political ads beyond pre-election period

The Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) has fined the opposition-minded TV channel Mtavari Arkhi 112,000 GEL for airing three political ads beyond the pre-election period.

The GNCC said that Mtavari Arkhi aired three clips on November 17-18 in contravention of the Law on Broadcasting.

One of the three videos features photos of the representatives of the Penitentiary Institution and judges involved in criminal cases against the imprisoned third president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili. Audio narratives accompany each photo, saying the individual ‘is killing Saakashvili’, calling for Saakashvili to be freed.

The second video by the Shame (Geo. Sirtskhvilia) movement featured photos of current and former members of the ruling Georgian Dream party assembled into a photo mosaic of Vladimer Putin. The photo caption says ‘#Shame’.

The third video featured statements by the ruling GD party members, President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili and Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze about Saakashvili’s hunger strike. There is a voice-over narration saying the individuals are ‘killing’ [Saakashvili].

Citing the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting, GNCC said that broadcasters are obliged to ensure that the advertisement it submits complies with the Georgian legislation and do not allow inappropriate advertisements to be aired beyond the pre-election period.

Georgia’s Law on Advertisement says pre-election advertisement is an advertisement that is intended to facilitate the election of the President of Georgia, the Parliament of Georgia or local self-government representative bodies.

The Election Code of Georgia says pre-election/political advertising is commercial broadcast by mass media aimed at promoting/hindering the election of an electoral subject, where the electoral subject/and/or its sequence number are displayed and which contains the signs of election campaign or appeals for or against the issue put forward for referendum/plebiscite.

Mtavari Arkhi channel Director Nika Gvaramia said the GNCC’s decision ‘is absolutely wrong’, noting that the ‘sole purpose is to severely restrict the editorial and civil position of the channel’.

This is censorship and I want you [the public] to know about Bidzina Ivanishvili’s [former ruling party chair] personal censors, free speech butchers, who will definitely be held accountable for their actions.

Gvaramia also said Mtavari Arkhi is not going to pay the fine and he will appeal the decision of the GNCC.