Public TV Offers to Air Report Linked to Journalist Detention Scandal

General Director of the Public Television Tamar Kintsurashvili stated the company is ready to broadcast the investigative report regarding the activities of MP Koba Bekauri, prepared by the media studio “Reporter.”

The report, incriminating Bekauri in illegal business activities became the reason for detaining co-owner and anchor of the TV 202, Shalva Ramishvili. Bekauri claims Ramishvili was extorting a bribe for pulling the report off the air. Ramishvili says MP has been intimidating him and has fabricated the extortion charge.

Kintsurashvili stated that she approached the “Eurasia Foundation” and “Open Society – Georgia” Foundation which have financed the investigative report with an offer to broadcast it on Public TV, which enjoys the widest national coverage.

Media studio “Reporter” has a contract on broadcasting with TV 202, which covers only the capital, Tbilisi. Representative of the “Reporter” Vakhtang Komakhidze said the studio did not make the final decision on broadcasting yet, but promised to “satisfy the interest of the population” in the report related to Bekauri.

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