Justice

Court interrogates Giorgi Arveladze on the case of seizure of TV Iberia broadcasting license

The proceedings on the case of the forceful seizure of Iberia TV broadcasting license has been resumed by the examination of the evidence presented by the defense at the Tbilisi City Court.

Former chairperson of the National Communications Regulatory Commission, Giorgi Arveladze was interrogated as the witness in the case.

Arveladze confirmed at the hearing that in 2007 he had contact with Ioseb Mgeladze, who was one of the persons involved in the machinations around the transfer of Iberia broadcasting license. In particular, Ioseb Mgeladze was one of the fictitious buyers of the license, who made fake purchase from Bidzina Nizharadze.

According to the witness, Ioseb Mgeladze asked him how TV company Aisi would resume to operate after being transferred the license of Iberia TV and consequently, how he had to transfer the charged sum to Iberia.

Arveladze said that being the chairperson of the National Communications Regulatory Commission, he defined to Mgeladze that in order to let the company resume operation, the arrears to the state budget had to be covered.

According to the witness, Mgeladze covered the arrear of license fee in the amount of 19 700 GEL entirely. He also added that Ioseb Mgeladze was his companion’s friend. When asked about the companion, he was it was former defense minister, Davit Kezerashvili, who also was Mgeladze’s chief.

As for the process of license seizure, Arveladze said he was not involved in the process and therefore, he was not aware of its details.

He also commented on his links with the defendant of the case, former prosecutor general Zurab Adeishvili, saying he had only business communication with him.

The prosecutor of the case, Emzar Gagnidze told reporters after the trial that the testimony by witness Arveladze did not contain information that could be important for the case.

“The witness confirmed that TV company Aisi has the arrears in the amount of 19 700 GEL and for resumption of its broadcast, it had to cover this charge. The witness confirmed that the TV company covered the arrear, but he did not have information whether it resumed to operate or not. Therefore, this witness cannot specify the circumstances in which the license of Iberia TV was transferred to another person. He was not linked to the issue. The testimony by the witness was not informative. The only thing he confirmed that TV Company Aisi really existed, but this fact has been already confirmed by the prosecution”, - prosecutor Emzar Gagnidze said.

The next hearing on the case will be held at 13:00 on the 10th of July. The trial will be resumed with the examination of the evidence presented by the defense.

It should be noted that the prosecutor’s office investigated the case of Iberia TV closure and the forceful seizure of its broadcasting license in February, 2016. Former prosecutor general Zurab Adeishvili and his first deputy, Giorgi Latsabidze have been prosecuted for the crime.