‘Patarkatsishvili Close to Finalizing Sale of Big Stake in Imedi’

In a Financial Times article on January 11 Badri Patarkatsishvili, alleging that his business interests in Georgia were being victimized, said he was close to finalizing the sale of a big stake in Imedi TV station to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.  No other details of the deal were reported.

Imedi TV staff and management said on December 26 the television station was “temporarily suspending” broadcasts in an attempt “to distance ourselves from dirty political games” and in protest against both its owner, Patarkatsishvili, and the authorities. Many leading Imedi journalists had earlier quit.

Giorgi Targamadze, head of Imedi TV’s political programs, said this week that most of the remaining Imedi journalists would only continue working at the station if Patarkatsishvili distanced himself from Imedi and gave “all the necessary guarantees that New Corp. would assume full responsibility” for managing the station.

The Georgian General Prosecutor’s Office said on January 10 that it had charged Patarkatsishvili with conspiring to overthrow the government and plotting and planning two separate “terrorist acts”, one of which was allegedly aimed at a government official.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)