Proceedings against Nika Gvaramia are politically motivated, aimed at suppressing critical voices - NGOs

More than 40 non-governmental organizations claim that the current proceedings against Nika Gvaramia are politically motivated and aimed at suppressing critical voices. The statement mentions that the case brought against the founder of "Mtavari Channel" undermines his right to a fair trial, has a negative effect on the freedom of expression and creates a precedent of narrowing the free space, which has an impact on the existence of a pluralistic media environment in the state.

The organizations call on the President, taking into account the recommendations of the European Commission towards Georgia and in accordance with the evaluations of international and local organizations, the Public Defender, to make a decision on pardoning of Nika Gvaramia.

The signatories also call on the Supreme Court to consider the ongoing criminal case against Nika Gvaramia in a timely, objective and impartial manner.

The judgment rendered by the Court of Appeal in the criminal case of Nika Gvaramia is appealed by cassation. Despite the fact that the term defined by the law is about to expire, the consideration of Nika Gvaramia's cassation appeal has not yet started, the composition of the court has not even been determined. It should be emphasized that the case of Nika Gvaramia is directly related to the 7th point from the 12 - point recommendations of the European Commission, which is still to be implemented. In this regard, the recommendation calls to "Undertake stronger efforts to guarantee a free, professional, pluralistic and independent media environment, notably by ensuring that criminal procedures brought against media owners fulfil the highest legal standards, and by launching impartial, effective and timely investigations in cases of threats against the safety of journalists.

 The External Action Service of the European Commission also points to the need to comply with the highest legal standards in criminal proceedings against media owners.In this direction, we believe that the release of the founder of "Mtavari Channel", Nika Gvaramia, from prison is one of the steps to fulfill the mentioned recommendation. At the same time, it is important to note that the movement for the release of Nika Gvaramia was founded, which unites people from different professions. Various groups of society and non-governmental organizations that are members of the Media Advocacy Coalition appealed to the President with a request to pardon Gvaramia. Also, the Public Defender of Georgia appealed to President Salome Zurabishvili to pardon Nika Gvaramia. As of today, Nika Gvaramia remains in custody.

The report of the US State Department emphasizes that non-governmental organizations, opposition parties, international organizations, including Amnesty International, considered Nika Gvaramia's case to be politically motivated. According to the US Embassy, the imprisonment of Nika Gvaramia puts at risk the clear choice of the Georgian people and the stated goal of a safer, democratic, European future of Georgian leaders. At the same time, international non-governmental organizations point out that the arrest of Nika Gvaramia, which puts Georgia on the list of repressive, authoritarian states of post-Soviet Eurasia, harms the country's reputation.