A report aired on April 25 by “TV Pirveli’s” investigative program, “Shabatis Eteri” (Saturday Broadcast), was followed by a series of statements directed against the television company. The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia accuses the station of spreading disinformation.
Specifically, the program “Nodar Meladze’s Saturday” prepared an investigative report regarding Bezhan Bezhuashvili, the father of Tamar Bezhuashvili, a prosecutor involved in high-profile cases. Tamar Bezhuashvili is leading the cases of Paata Burchuladze, Irakli Nadiradze, Murtaz Zodelava, Paata Manjgaladze, and Lasha Beridze. According to the journalistic investigation, the prosecutor’s father defrauded business partners, thereby seizing their shares, funds, and real estate. The report also discusses the prosecutor’s alleged influence, which may be the reason for the delay in the legal proceedings initiated against Bezhan Bezhuashvili.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia released a statement regarding this matter, calling the “TV Pirveli” material “yet another disinformation report.” According to the agency, the television company “is deliberately preparing a report for the second time regarding the business activities of the prosecutor’s father and is completely unjustifiably linking them to Tamar Bezhuashvili’s professional activities.”
“The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia will not allow such attacks on the prosecutors of high-profile criminal cases, which aim to discredit the prosecutor and the agency, and will respond accordingly,” the statement reads.
Journalist Nodar Meladze also responded to the incident, noting that the attack on the “Shabatis Eteri” team is intended to pressure journalists:
“We, the investigative project ‘Shabatis Eteri’ of ‘TV Pirveli,’ consider the orchestrated attacks on our team as pressure on journalists. The goal of these actions is to force media representatives to cease their professional activities and refuse to prepare investigative reports. For the second day now, a series of attacks by the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia and ‘Georgian Dream’ MPs has been underway against the investigative journalists of the ‘Shabatis Eteri’ program.””TV Pirveli” views statements from the Prosecutor’s Office and “Georgian Dream” MPs as an attempt to pressure the investigative journalists of “Shabatis Eteri”
