On November 3, Davit Matikashvili, the Georgian Dream MP, replied to the US Embassy's remark regarding Main Channel founder Nika Gvaramia, stating that politics should transcend impressions and all claims and opinions should be backed up by verifiable facts. 

"Unfortunately, such claims are not supported by an argument or any supporting evidence," Davit Matikashvili added. "Let's start with the fact that the court is the third branch of government and that it issues judgments by the law. No one, including the state, President, Prime Minister, Parliament, Chairman of Parliament, ambassador, department of any country, or anyone else, has the right to impose their opinion on the court because the court is independent. Everyone has the right to criticize and evaluate - to like something or not—but no one has the right to do so on behalf of the court," he said.

"The remarks based on such impressions sadly remain merely hollow assertions, even though the country is in the top spot according to the justice index. All of this was verified by the assessments of extremely high-level professionals in the same country. When a claim is supported by neither facts nor reasoning, it is very sad," Davit Matikashvili stated.

Importantly, Nika Gvaramia, the founder of Mtavari TV, was found guilty by the Tbilisi Court of Appeal. As a result, the three years and six months of incarceration that the Tbilisi City Court had imposed on him were still in effect. 

Earlier, on November 2, Caucasus Watch reported that the US Embassy in Georgia responded to the Tbilisi Court of Appeals' decision to uphold the sentence of jailed Mtavari Arkhi TV Chief Nika Gvaramia by emphasizing that Gvaramia's continued imprisonment puts at risk the clear choice of the people of Georgia and Georgian leaders' stated goal for a more secure, democratic European future. The US Embassy reaffirmed its deep concern over the Court's ruling while pointing out that numerous international and Georgian human rights advocates have raised significant questions about this case from the start, including the timing and charges, as well as the conviction and sentence.

Irakli Kobakhidze on Nika Gvaramia's Case

On November 3, Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze talked about the case of Nika Gvaramia, "These thieves began stealing the TV firm and stole EUR 7 million since they were aware they had to turn over the TV company to its legitimate owner,” he stated. 

He argues that everything is crystal clear and that there should be no place for political speculation, despite the opposition's continued attempts. "We cannot interfere with the court's decision. The only assessment I will make as a lawyer regarding the content of this case is this: Gvaramia knew that he had to hand over his TV company to the rightful owner very soon; he knew that the Strasbourg Court would make this decision. He knew this in advance because they had stolen Rustavi 2. These robbers knew that they had to hand over the TV company to its rightful owner, so they started robbing the TV company and stole $7 million, as the court established. If anyone has questions, please apply to the appropriate instances, but the fact is that the TV company was robbed; $7 million was stolen, which had to be returned to its rightful owner based on the expected decision of the Strasbourg Court. Everything is obvious. There should not be any space left for political speculations, although the opposition manages to speculate again," Kobakhidze added.

Regarding the issue of pardoning Nika Gvaramia by the President (Salome Zourabichvili), Irakli Kobakhidze stated: "If the President pardons Nika Gvaramia, it will turn out that  Zourabichvili does not respect the institution of the president at all." 

"I cannot interfere in this case either. I will just remind you what words Nika Gvaramia used to refer to the President of Georgia. After that, we theoretically talk about the fact that Salome Zourabichvili may pardon Nika Gvaramia, but it will turn out that Salome Zourabichvili does not respect the institution of the President at all. I think that this will not happen; there will be minimal respect for the institution of the President, and in such a case, of course, the use of pardon power is ruled out," Kobakhidze concluded.

Importantly, Nika Gvaramia, the founder of Mtavari TV, was found guilty by the Tbilisi Court of Appeal. As a result, the three years and six months of incarceration that the Tbilisi City Court had imposed on him were still in effect. 

Earlier, on November 2, Caucasus Watch reported that the US Embassy in Georgia responded to the Tbilisi Court of Appeals' decision to uphold the sentence of jailed Mtavari Arkhi TV Chief Nika Gvaramia by emphasizing that Gvaramia's continued imprisonment puts at risk the clear choice of the people of Georgia and Georgian leaders' stated goal for a more secure, democratic European future. The US Embassy reaffirmed its deep concern over the Court's ruling while pointing out that numerous international and Georgian human rights advocates have raised significant questions about this case from the start, including the timing and charges, as well as the conviction and sentence.