The press-speaker of the Spokesperson for the European External Actions Service released a statement regarding the verdict of the Tbilisi Court of Appeal in the case of Nika Gvaramia, the Director General of the Main Channel.

As mentioned in the statement, the European Union has been monitoring this case closely.

According to the statement, stronger efforts to guarantee a free, professional, pluralistic and independent media environment, notably by ensuring that criminal procedures brought against media owners fulfil the highest legal standards represents one of the priorities identified by the European Commission.

“The Tbilisi Court of Appeal ruled today that the charges against Mr Nika Gvaramia, the Director General of one of the TV channels in Georgia, should be upheld including 3 years and 6 months’ imprisonment under Article 220 of the Criminal Code. The EU has been monitoring this case closely.

The European Union does not comment on the merits of individual Court cases, but we note once again that questions have been raised, including by the Public Defender, in relation to this case.

In this respect, we recall that “stronger efforts to guarantee a free, professional, pluralistic and independent media environment, notably by ensuring that criminal procedures brought against media owners fulfil the highest legal standards” represents one of the priorities identified by the European Commission.

The EU will continue to support Georgian authorities in reforming the judiciary with focus on the independence, transparency and quality of judicial procedures indispensable for upholding the rule of law.

The European Union remains committed to supporting Georgia in addressing all 12 priorities in order to live up to the European aspirations of its citizens”, reads the statement.

source: IPN