Ruling party head references European Parliament’s “politically biased” resolution after court ruling on channel head

Irakli Kobakidze, the chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said the European Parliament resolution on the violations of media freedom and the safety of journalists in Georgia, adopted in June, was “politically biased” and sought a “specific interest”, after the Tbilisi court of appeals upheld a verdict against the head of a TV channel supported by a part of the domestic opposition.

Speaking after the court sentenced Nika Gvaramia, the former head of the Rustavi 2 channel and current director of Mtavari Arkhi TV, to three years and six months in prison for damage caused to the former company in commercial deals, Kobakhidze noted it was “important” that the European Commission and the European Council had not shared the resolution of the European Parliament in the part of political justice.

This resolution is politically biased and seeks a specific interest. Therefore, the resolution is not worth a dime, and each of its entries is not worth a dime. I will repeat once again that the European Commission and the European Council did not share the resolution in this part. This is very important”, the GD official said.

The June 9 resolution urged Georgian authorities to “refrain from interfering in media freedom or pursuing politically motivated judicial cases against media owners or representatives”, and noted the case of Gvaramia.

The document has been cited by a part of the domestic opposition in its criticisms of the country’s authorities, with opposition politicians demanding release of the media figure.