TBILISI -- Noted Georgian opposition journalist Nika Gvaramia has been released from prison after President Salome Zurabishvili pardoned him for an abuse of power conviction that many rights groups, the United States, and the European Union called politically motivated.
The 46-year-old director-general of the opposition Mtavari television channel was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison in May 2022 on a charge of abuse of office during his previous tenure at another broadcaster.
Family members, colleagues, friends, and opposition politicians met Gvaramia at the prison gates in the southeastern city of Rustavi early in the morning on June 23.
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Jailed Georgian Opposition Journalist Released After Presidential Pardon
Gvaramia told journalists gathered for his release that Zurabishvili should now pardon jailed former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Gvaramia also said he does not plan to continue to lead the Mtavari television channel.
Zurabishvili said on June 23 that her decision to pardon Gvaramia was based on her discretionary right to do so and refused to elaborate on reasons why the clemency was granted.
U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan hailed Zurabishvili's decision, calling it "an important contribution to end polarization in Georgia."
"The United States and others have been very clear about their concerns, but expressing concern is what friends do when they have concerns. This is not interference. And I am confident that President Zurabishvili takes her pardoning authority very seriously," Degnan said.
Two days earlier, the U.S. Embassy had expressed concerns over Gvaramia’s ordeal, stressing that "a functioning democracy depends on protecting media freedom and prohibiting political prosecution."
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it welcomed the move, which it had pushed for in recent months along with other organizations.
“We are thrilled that Nika Gvaramia has been pardoned. He should never have been jailed, and his continued imprisonment stood at odds with the country’s purported commitment to press freedom,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ program coordinator for Europe and Central Asia.
Georgia ranked 89th out of 180 countries on the Reporters Without Borders 2022 World Press Freedom Index. In 2019, it ranked 60th.