Opposition says Gvaramia’s arrest is “targeted provocation,” urges president to pardon him

The recent imprisonment of the head of the opposition-minded Mtavari channel Nika Gvaramia was a “targeted provocation to hamper Georgia’s European integration,” and the president should “improve the mistake” and pardon him,” Lelo MP, former United National Movement (UNM) official, Salome Samadashvili, said on Monday.

“The arrest of Gvaramia is assessed as a political persecution of an independent media manager on political grounds. On the day of Gvaramia’s arrest, I called on the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, to exercise her constitutional right to pardon him. I can repeat once again that today, as we are going through a very difficult path ahead of important meetings with the EU and NATO. I believe that the arrest of Gvaramia was a deliberate provocation to hinder our Euro-Atlantic integration,” Samadashvili suggested.

Gvaramia, former UNM official who chaired Rustavi 2 TV between 2012 and 2019, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for abuse of power last week while serving in Rustavi 2.

Gvaramia did not admit to the crime and said that he is a “political prisoner.”

The ruling party pointed at “independent judiciary,” and said that “everyone is equal before the law.”