Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze on Thursday launched a legal dispute against the opposition-minded TV Pirveli channel and its journalist Maya Mamulashvili, seeking a ₾100,000 ($ 34,603) compensation for moral damage for a claim on the official obtaining personal benefits.
Kaladze's attorney Dimitri Gabunia said in the dispute was centred around a June 5 broadcast of the channel, where Mamulashvili alleged Kaladze had “received ₾60 million ($ 20,762,238) from only one bid” in a state tender, and presented the claim as “official information”.
Kaladze launched his lawsuit at the Tbilisi City Court on June 20, seeking withdrawal of the “defamatory information” and compensation for moral damages.
The lawsuit was delivered to the channel and Mamulashvili on August 24, with Gabunia noting Kaladze’s legal team was seeking to be shown the documentation cited in the report and adding “if this documentation is not presented, [the channel and reporter] should be held accountable to the full extent of the law”.
Kaladze’s attorney also did not rule out that lawsuits against media outlets could obtain a “systemic character” going forward.