Formula TV, Mtavari TV and TV Pirveli: We consider the unjustified and illegal decision taken by the National Communications Commission to be an orchestrated punitive action
Formula TV, Mtavari TV and TV Pirveli have released a joint statement regarding the lawsuit of the Georgian Dream filed with the Communications Commission.
"The undersigned broadcasters consider the unjustified and illegal decision taken by the National Communications Commission on August 11, 2022 to be an orchestrated punitive action directed against us.
The Commission accepted the application of the Georgian Dream party for consideration, the purpose of which is to punish us for critical editorial policy and impose heavy financial sanctions.
The case refers to the application filed by the Georgian Dream party with the Communications Commission on August 8, 2022, on the basis of which it requests that three critical media companies - Formula TV, Mtavari TV and TV Pirveli - be recognized as violators of the law for the release of the clip “Going Home to Europe” on June 23-24.
The Georgian Dream manipulatively points out in its application that the disputed advertisement is a political/pre-election advertisement and serves to negatively portray the ruling party and its representatives, to form a negative opinion towards them in the society and to hinder them in the elections in the future.
Considering the above, according to the applicant, the disputed clip is a political/pre-election advertisement, which should not have been circulated during the non-election period”, reads the statement.
According to the statement, it is noteworthy that the decisions made by the National Communications Commission have repeatedly threatened the freedom of speech and expression of critical media.
“We believe that in this case too, the Government, through the regulatory body, is trying, on the one hand, to impose additional financial sanctions on critical media and to create financial obstacles for them, and on the other hand, to suppress critical/negative opinion in society”, reads the statement.
According to the TV companies, such a targeted attack by the Government on critical media will become another obstacle to the European integration of the country.
