The European Parliament will vote on a resolution on June 9, which urges the authorities to conduct an immediate independent review of former Rustavi 2 TV Director Nika Gvaramia’s conviction.
The draft resolution also considers the state of Georgian media, including the report on Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF). According to the document, Georgia’s press freedom ranking declined from 60th place in 2021 to 89th in 2022; whereas this is the country’s worst performance since 2013, when the country was placed 100th in the ranking.
The resolution also includes facts of July 5, 2021, amid homophobic violence against a planned Pride March, far right and hate groups verbally and physically assaulted at least 53 media workers in Tbilisi; where Lekso Lashkarava, one of the journalists seriously injured, was found dead in his house six days after the aggression; where the authorities denied responsibility and alleged he had died from a drug overdose while his family claimed that it was most likely the result of thrombosis; whereas the authorities failed to identify the organizers of the mass violence or ensure an effective investigation of the violent events and instead of ensuring the safety and freedom of assembly of the Pride organizers and participants, the authorities blamed them for holding “such marches in a public space”; where, according to ILGA, Georgia ranks 34th in Europe (among 49 countries) in terms of LGBTI rights.
According to the draft resolution, on May 16 2022, Tbilisi City Court delivered a guilty verdict against Nika Gvaramia, General Director of opposition-minded TV Mtavari, to 3 years and 6 months in prison accused of exceeding his powers while running another opposition TV channel, Rustavi 2; where Nino Lomjaria, the ombudsman of Georgia, stated that no evidence of wrongdoing by Gvaramia has been found and NGOS affirmed that the case was politically motivated; where this is not the first persecution of Nika Gvaramia, he has suffered attempts of his bribery, intimidation, blackmail and surveillance of family members.
The European Parliament noted it is deeply concerned about the growing threats to Independent and opposition media in Georgia and urges the authorities to conduct an immediate independent review of Nika Gvaramia’s conviction and on the meantime, calls for his immediate release; asks the authorities to release of all journalists detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
