Nika Gvaramia, the founder of the Main Channel, and Kakhaber Damenia, the accused along with him, were found guilty by the court in Tbilisi. Gvaramia was arrested for two instances of abuse of office, which involved an episode of "Porsche" and embezzlement of 6 million 700 000 GEL.
Kakha Damenia, Article 182 of the Criminal Code, which provides for the misappropriation of a large amount of property belonging to Rustavi 2 by a group with a preliminary agreement, Article 220, which stipulates abuse of official authority, has been reclassified and fined GEL 50,000.
The decision was announced by judge Lasha Chkhikvadze, “The accusation against Nika Gvaramia, the action envisaged by Article 182, Part 2, Subparagraphs “a” and “d” of the Criminal Code of Georgia and Article 220, Part 3, Subparagraph “b” of the same Article shall be qualified by Article 220 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. Nika Gvaramia should be found guilty of a crime under Article 220 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. For committing a crime under Article 220 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, to impose a fine in the amount of GEL 50,000 in favour of the state budget as the main punishment. For committing a crime under Article 220 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, the so-called Car episode, to be defined as the main sentence and size of imprisonment for 3 years and 6 months.”
On September 6, 2020, the General Prosecutor's Office charged Gvaramia and Damenia, the former financial director of Rustavi 2, and Zurab Iashvili, the director of Inter Media Plus, in the case of Rustavi 2.
Damenia was investigated for misappropriating a large amount of property rights belonging to the broadcasting company Rustavi 2, which was carried out by a group with a prior agreement, using his official position. Damenia was released on GEL 50,000 bail as a precautionary measure. He was also prohibited from leaving the state border without informing and obtaining consent from the investigative body.
As for Iashvili, he was accused of commercial bribery and forgery of an official document and was handed down a 50,000 GEL bail as a preventive measure.
Following the court decision the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia has released a statement to further clarify the process.
According to the decision of the Tbilisi City Court, Nika Gvaramia, the former General Director of the TV Company, was found guilty of causing 6,763,509 GEL in damages to Rustavi 2 TV. In this part, the Tbilisi City Court fully shared evidence presented by the prosecution but did not agree with the prosecution's assessment of the legal qualification of the crime committed, which qualified the defendant's actions as an abuse of power in an entrepreneurial organisation. Nika Gvaramia was fined 50,000 GEL.
We would like to remind the public that Nika Gvaramia was accused of embezzling a large amount of property rights belonging to the Rustavi 2 broadcasting company, commercial bribery, making and using a forged official document, legalising illegal income, and using his authority in an entrepreneurial organisation.
The public reaction was swift. Executive director of Transparency International Georgia Eka Gigauri commented that the decision to arrest Nika Gvaramia is devoid of logic and legal arguments. Gigauri added that the court effectively complied with the order of the ruling party.
Opposition politicians as well as members of the Georgian society expressed strong support for the Gvaramia and alleged that the move is politically motivated. Others argue that the detention should be also seen within Georgia’s EU membership perspective – the government is likely moving to derail the prospects by attacking the opposition media.
