Georgian court fines opposition TV channels for refusing to air ruling party's controversial campaign ad
Tbilisi City Court ruled on 11 October to fine Georgian TV channels Formula, Mtavari and TV Pirveli for refusing to air the Georgian Dream ruling party’s controversial campaign ad, showing footage of Ukrainian cities destroyed by Russia.
Source: European Pravda with reference to the Formula TV channel
Details: The Tbilisi court imposed fines ranging from 5,000 to 5,500 lari (about US$1,800 to US$2,000) based on an administrative offence protocol issued by Georgia's National Communications Commission, following a complaint by the Georgian Dream party.
The protocol referred to the requirement for channels to allocate free airtime to all parliamentary parties during the final month before elections.
Additionally, the court’s ruling obliges Formula, Mtavari, and TV Pirveli to broadcast the campaign ad, regardless of any potential appeal.
Background:
- Last month, the Georgian Dream party produced banners and videos for their election campaign featuring images of the destruction caused by Russia in Ukraine alongside contrasting visuals of "normal life" in Georgia.
- The captions on the banners urge voters to "choose peace" and "say no to war".
- Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned this use of imagery depicting the consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine in the ruling party's political advertising.
- However, this condemnation did not deter the Georgian authorities.
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