Kibar Khalvashi, the owner of Rustavi 2 TV, has released a statement regarding the verdict against Nika Gvaramia, the founder of the Mtavari TV.

According to Khalvashi, court's decision confirmed that the former General Director of Rustavi 2, Nika Gvaramia, with the consent of the then illegal owners of the TV station, intentionally caused financial damage to Rustavi 2 in the amount of 6.7 million GEL.

Kibar Khalvashi seeks compensation for the alleged damage caused to the TV station and explains that for this purpose, based on a criminal verdict, he will immediately file a civil lawsuit in court.

"I would like to comment on the decision made by the Tbilisi City Court today in the criminal case related to the multimillion-dollar damage to Rustavi 2 TV.

Today's decision confirms the simple legal truth that Nika Gvaramia, the former General Director of Rustavi 2, with the consent of the then illegal owners of the TV company, intentionally caused financial damage to Rustavi 2 in the amount of 6.7 million GEL by concluding a deal with Intermedia.

The mentioned damage still bears a heavy burden on Rustavi 2, which was returned to its rightful owner in 2019 by the decisions of the Georgian and Strasbourg courts. The motive for causing the damage to Rustavi 2 was the circumstance that, according to the then illegal owners and the General Director of the TV company, Rustavi 2 would be returned to the rightful owner.

They themselves knew that they had no legal basis for maintaining the TV station, which was eventually confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Of particular importance is the fact that the damage to the TV station continued even after the Strasbourg court temporarily suspended the execution of the relevant decision of the Supreme Court of Georgia. This means that Nika Gvaramia abused the temporary measure imposed by the Strasbourg court, using it to cause additional damage to the TV company in the amount of several million GEL, which is a clear manifestation of the rude attitude towards the Strasbourg court. I call on the perpetrators to fully compensate the multimillion-dollar damage to the TV station. For this purpose, based on the criminal verdict, I will immediately file a civil lawsuit in court," Kibar Khalvashi said in a statement spread by Rustavi 2 TV.