President pardons TV figure Gvaramia after “no progress” on media pluralism in EU Commission’s report on Georgia’s candidacy

Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili on Thursday pardoned Nika Gvaramia, the imprisoned head of the opposition-minded Mtavari channel, after the European Commission’s oral report on Georgia’s implementation of 12-point priorities for the European Union membership on Wednesday pointed to “no progress” on the media-related condition. 

 

Zourabichvili’s decision came following the Supreme Court’s refusal on June 19 to accept Gvaramias lawsuit, who was last year convicted for abuse of power while at the helm of Rustavi 2 TV channel in 2015 and 2019, and was sentenced to three years and six months in prison. 

 

The European Commission’s oral report said Georgia had fully completed three of 12 conditions, partially met seven, had no progress on one and showed limited progress on the remaining one on deoligarchisation efforts. 

 

Georgia applied for EU membership on March 3, 2022, along with Ukraine and Moldova, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February.  The European Council in June 2022 granted Ukraine and Moldova the bloc’s full candidacy with conditions, while Georgia obtained only a European perspective and 12 conditions to receive the status later.  Tbilisi called the decision “historic”, but “unfair, not merit-based and politically grounded, claiming it was “far ahead” of both states with its level of democracy, before expressing hopes for the bloc’s “just approach” on the status in December. 

 

The EU Commission on Wednesday also presented its oral report on Ukraine and Moldova. Both countries had conditions fully or partially completed, but none of them had a condition with “no progress” unlike Georgia.