Public TV Says will not Give Airtime to Wanted Ex-Minister

The Georgian public television said on March 10 that granting airtime to Irakli Okruashvili, ex-defense minister and leader of opposition Movement for United Georgia, who is wanted in Georgia, would be “violation of international standards.”

Okruashvili, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in absentia, last March by the Georgian court for “large-scale extortion,” has been granted political asylum in France.

Speaking in the public TV’s weekly talk show Political Week on March 8, Eka Beselia, one of the leaders of the Movement for United Georgia said that instead of her, Irakli Okruashvili should have participated in the program through live satellite link-up from France; however it did not occur because of the government’s pressure, Beselia has claimed.

She pressed on the host of the program, Inga Grigolia, to give a pledge that Okruashvili would be interviewed in her program in the future. Grigolia confirmed that she had consultations with Okruashvili over his participation in her program, but denied any pressure by the government.
 
“The public broadcaster considers that granting of airtime to those persons, who are wanted in Georgia, is a violation of international standards,” a statement issued by the Georgian Public Broadcaster reads.

“The public TV’s management is categorically against any pressure by the politicians,” it said adding that the television “will never be a propagandistic tool of political parties and will itself make decisions about the content and format of TV programs.”

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