Opposition channels in Georgia fined for refusing to run political ads with destroyed Ukrainian cities

Opposition TV channels Formula, Pirveli and Mtavari have been fined 5,000 GEL (equal to UAH 72,500) each for refusing to air election ads for the ruling Georgian Dream party featuring destroyed Ukrainian cities, Newsgeorgia reports.

The Tbilisi City Court issued the decision on October 11. Earlier, the National Communications Commission found that the TV channels had violated the electoral law. The ruling party filed a complaint with the regulator directly.

The TV channels explained the blocking of the video by its unethical nature, as well as the presence of calls for national hatred and intimidation of voters. The commission stated that there was nothing wrong with the video and that it did not violate Georgian law.

As a reminder, Georgia's ruling party presented a series of election posters and videos urging voters to "choose peace" and say "no to war." They contrast images of Ukrainian cities destroyed by Russian troops with images of churches, parks, and new buses in Georgia.

TV companies consider the clips to be "Russian propaganda" and "mockery of the Ukrainian people."

The journalists share the assessment of the EU Ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Gerczynski, who called the ruling party's advertisements "outrageous, shameful and disgusting." The ambassador emphasized that the price of peace in Georgia and the European Union was "the sacrifice of the Ukrainian people, and they deserve our deepest respect."

The joint statement of the TV companies reads: "The Ivanishvili-dependent government is putting us in a dilemma - either we air the above-mentioned videos or we are subject to huge fines that could lead to the threat of the channels' shutdown."

In September, Formula, Mtavari, and TV Pirveli were fined for refusing to air another provocative Georgian Dream ad. This is a video with the slogan "Say no to the moral degeneration of society" against the background of images of Georgian activists and representatives of civil society.

As a reminder, Georgia will hold parliamentary elections on October 26. The election is expected to be a sharp confrontation between the pro-Russian ruling party Georgian Dream and the opposition.

Earlier, Intent wrote that in May, the ruling party of Georgia managed to pass the law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" in the parliament. This law is better known as the law on foreign agents, similar to its Russian counterpart, which is why Georgians often refer to it as the Russian law.

Ігор Льов