On December 7, the Public Defender's Office declared that the criminal case against Nika Gvaramia, the head of Mtavari Arkhi TV, had a clear political motivation and that Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits restricting rights for political or other reasons not permitted by the Convention, had been broken.

The Public Defender also stated that the case's political undertones outweigh the interests of justice, which are supported by political statements, the country's media landscape, partners on the local and international levels, the fact that justice was administered with significant flaws, and the fact that only Gvaramia was sentenced to prison. The Public Defender stated that this is especially clear given that the judgments in the criminal case of Nika Gvaramia do not correspond to the fundamental principles of criminal law and lack justification, highlighting the fact that the assessment is based on the approaches of the European Convention on Human Rights and international organizations.

Respond from Georgian Dream Chair

On December 8, Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream, claimed that Nino Lomjaria was nearly everything but not the Public Defender.

According to Irakli Kobakhidze, Lomjaria was genuinely entirely active in politics. "Particularly the last two years, during which the extreme opposition made a concentrated effort to topple the administration. She had just political goals in mind. If you look at her reports, you will notice that there is nothing at all in the human rights section. Her objective was purely political; she meddled in both internal and international politics and made political remarks," Kobakhidze stated.

"As for the criteria, the criteria are, of course, competence, integrity, impartiality, and according to these criteria, the new Public Defender should be selected. Unfortunately, the current Public Defender had neither of these nor the other. And neither the third, which is very unfortunate," the diplomat concluded.

Importantly, Nika Gvaramia 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.

Read more about Gvaramia's case:

Chairman of Girchi - More Freedom: "Zourabichvili Can Pardon Gvaramia But She Will Not Do It Without Ivanishvili's Agreement"

Georgian Organizations Call On Charles Michel to Facilitate Pardon of Nika Gvaramia

European MPs Address Salome Zourabichvili on Nika Gvaramia Case

EU on Tbilisi Court of Appeal's Decision on Nika Gvaramia; Georgian Dream Responds

US Embassy in Georgia Condemns Tbilisi Court of Appeals Decision to Uphold Nika Gvaramia's Sentence