Mtavari Arkhi

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A screengrab of Georgian Dream's election campaign ad.

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Opposition TV channel sanctioned for refusing to air Georgian Dream election ad

by OC Media

•2 min read

The Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) satisfied the ruling Georgian Dream party’s complaint against the opposition channel Mtavari Arkhi, and has filed a violation protocol against the TV company for not airing its political advertisement. GNCC stated on Wednesday that according to Mtavari Arkhi, the advertisement’s placement might be against the prohibition of spreading hate speech as stated in the Broadcasting Law. During the pre-election period, all community broadcast

Nika Gvaramia addressing an anti-government demonstration on 17 July 2021 in Tbilisi. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Gvaramia transfers Mtavari Arkhi shares to wife in move to politics

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•2 min read

Nika Gvaramia has formally resigned as opposition TV Mtavari Arkhi’s general director, transferring his shares to his wife ahead of his return to politics. Gvaramia announced his departure from Mtavari Arkhi and the handover of his shares on Wednesday, stating that owning stakes in the channel was ‘incompatible with the party position that I will hold in the coming days’. ‘That’s why I complied with the requirements of the law and transferred the share to my [wife] Sofo [Liluashvili]’, said

A screenshot purportedly of the Georgian President’s website published by Publika.

Cybersecurity

‘Russian hackers’ take down websites of Georgian media and president

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•2 min read

The websites of Georgia’s President and two leading TV stations have been temporarily taken offline in an apparent cyberattack by Russian hackers. The website of Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili was offline on Friday morning, with local media reporting that the site initially displayed a message attributing the attack to a Russian hacking network. Screenshots purportedly of the site showed the message ‘HACKED BY COZY BEAR SLAVA [glory to] RUSSIA’ on a black background with an image of

Freedom of the Press

Georgian president pardons Nika Gvaramia

by OC Media

•2 min read

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has pardoned Nika Gvaramia, the imprisoned head of pro-opposition TV channel Mtavari, three days after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction. Gvaramia was convicted by Tbilisi City Court in May 2022 for allegedly embezzling money as the director of another TV company, Rustavi 2. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. His imprisonment, widely seen as being politically motivated, had been condemned internationally, including by the US a

Roin Metreveli. Photo: National Academy of Science.

Corruption

Georgian Academy of Sciences head promises membership to PM in prank call

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•2 min read

The newly appointed president of Georgia’s National Academy of Sciences has promised to grant full membership of the academy, a position known as ‘academician’, to the Prime Minister after being asked to do so by a journalist posing as one of the PM’s team. On Sunday, TV station Mtavari aired a phone conversation between journalist Beka Korshia and Roin Metreveli, the 83-year-old former Soviet official who was appointed to head the academy on 7 June. In the call, which took place on Metrevel

Alt Info

Two attacks on journalists in two days in Georgia

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•2 min read

News crews from two TV Channels — Mtavari and Formula — have been attacked while on duty in two separate incidents over the past two days in Georgia. In the early hours of Friday morning, Ema Gogokhia, a Zugdidi correspondent from opposition TV channel Mtavari, reported that she and her camera operator were attacked outside the office of the Conservative Movement, a party established by the extremist pro-Russian group Alt Info. Gogokhia said that she was injured and their equipment was dest

Freedom of the Press

Georgian Security Service investigates opposition TV station for ‘sabotage’

by OC Media

•3 min read

The State Security Service of Georgia (SSG) is investigating opposition-leaving TV channel Mtavari Arkhi for ‘sabotage’ after the channel aired a story the authorities say was fabricated. In a broadcast on 20 June, the channel claimed the government offered money to residents of Marneuli Municipality whose relatives had recently died to lie that their deaths were caused by COVID-19. They speculated the alleged scheme was meant to artificially increase the number of recorded coronavirus death