Public Defender asks President to pardon jailed TV channel Director

Nino Lomjaria, the Public Defender of Georgia, has addressed President Salome Zourabichvili with a request to exercise her power to pardon Nika Gvaramia, the Director General of Mtavari Arkhi TV channel who was sentenced to over three years in prison for abuse of powers last month.

The Public Defender’s Office published results of its study of the verdict of the case on Wednesday, considering the reasoning of the court “unfounded” in both conviction and sentencing.

In her comments Lomjaria referenced elements of the case relating to Gvaramia’s dealings over advertising sales of Rustavi 2 channel during his time as its Director, as well as to the media figure obtaining a vehicle using profits made through the deals.

In her study of the case, the Public Defender said “not all business decisions” could become subject of criminal evaluation by state authorities, noting the ruling was “inadmissible” without the court substantiating “personal interest, fraud, sole decision, or other criminal action”.

Referencing the second element of the case, Lomjaria said the court could have used a fine or house arrest, but had instead imposed the “severe punishment” of imprisonment. Her statement called the verdict against Gvaramia “essentially unfounded” due to the “extreme scarcity of legal reasoning, analysis and consistency”.

Lomjaria said her request for a Presidential pardon followed the “gross violation of the principle of legality - enshrined in the Constitution -  as well as national and international laws” in the court ruling.

Gvaramia was found guilty of causing a ₾6,763,509 ($2,239,572/€2,151,266) damage to Rustavi 2 between 2015-2019 through advertising deals, and of obtaining property using profits from the actions.