Pardon for convicted channel head would be “insult” to president’s office - ruling party head

Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said president Salome Zourabichvili would “insult” her office by pardoning Nika Gvaramia, the imprisoned head of the Mtavari Arkhi TV channel, following calls by opposition politicians for the move.

Kobakhidze said “everyone remembers well” the convicted media figure - who also held high posts under the United National Movement government - “insulting the president for various reasons” on unspecified occasions.

Kobakhidze’s comment comes on the heels of the judgement of the Tbilisi court of appeals, which on Wednesday upheld the verdict of the Tbilisi city court against Gvaramia and kept him in imprisonment for charges of having caused damage through commercial deals to Rustavi 2 channel he led in 2015 and 2019.

Following the verdict, UNM MP Khatia Dekanoidze called on the president to “take responsibility” and pardon Gvaramia, saying his imprisonment could “hamper” the country’s European integration process. 

The opposition lawmaker claimed one of the 12 conditions set by the European Commission for Georgia’s membership candidate status “concerns Gvaramia and media freedom”.