Issue Two. Tuesday. September 10, 1996

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

   * TODAY, THE TELEVISION CHANNEL RUSTAVI-2 WAS DENIED THE RIGHT TO AIR
ITS PROGRAMS BY THE TBILISI CITY COURT, AS WELL AS BY THE DISTRICT ONE. 
The city court did not change the decision of the district court, though,
in the opinion of a BGI correspondwent who attended the trial, the court
deci- on was expected to be in favour of the TV channel. (See Report for
more in- formation). 


R E P O R T
                                           Nelly Mzhavanadze

        CRUCIFIED FREEDOM OF SPEECH

   The Tbilisi servants of Themis crucified the freedom of speech in a
small dirty room today.  It is in such a room where the proceedings on the
claim of the TV channel Rustavi-2, that was denied the right to air its
programs by the Ministry of Communications, took place. 
   There was no room for evrybody who wished to attend the trial.  They
had to find a place on dusty window-sills. At last the trial began. 
   Representatives of the US and British embassies, Internews local
office, an official representative of the Association of Lawyers of the
USA in Ge- orgia, representatives of the OSCE and the European Union were
present at the trial. 
   The founders of the TV channel Rustavi-2, who filed the claim, demanded
that the previously passed Mtatsminda district court decision on banning
the TV channel be repealed. 
   Lia Mukhashavria, counsel for defense, was the first who took the flo-
or.
   - The provision of the Law on Mass Media, saying that only court has
the right to ban the activities of mass media was violated, she said. 
   And the judge nodded in consent.
   - In our case the TV channel Rustavi-2 was cut off the air without a
co- urt decision and even without any notice in advance, on the basis of
only one letter, she proceeded. 
   And the judge nodded again.
   Lia Mukhashavria mentioned a number of violations made with regard to
the closure of the TV channel. 
   The judge continued nodding.
   Representatives of the Ministry of Communications did not come to the
trial. The representative of the Ministry of Justice Soso Mumladze assured
that the letter addressed to the Ministry of Communications by their mi-
nistry does not demand that the channel be cut off the air. 
   - Our ministry, he said, did not oblige, either legally or morally, the
Ministry of Communications and Post to revoke the license, all the more so
since it's not within our competence. 
   To put it briefly, Soso Mumladze was desperatly trying to defend his
mi- nistry and even said the following: 
   - We should not be blamed for the using of our letter this way, and why
have not representatives of the Ministry of Communications attended the
session. 
   The counsel for the third party,  which is the NPL studio, Medea
Chapod-
ze:
   - The Statute of the news-advertaising agency Gamma Plus does not say
that it has the right to television broadcasting. So, the TV channel
Rusta- vi-2 aired its programs illegally. You say that the parliamentary
committee for law, legality and constitutional affairs confirmed the
unlawful closure of the TV channel Rustavi-2. It is not so. It was a
personal opinion of the this committee's representative Koba Davitashvili. 
I can prove by his by his letter. 
   Then the counsel for the plaintiff Lia Mukhashavria told that the Law
on Entrepreneurship is existing and it stipulates the right of a juridical
person to get engaged in any lawful activities, that Gamma-Plus is a
news-advertising agency and that he has a copy of the decision of the abo-
ve-mentioned parliamentary committee, etc. 
    The judges were very polite and kind.  They created an impression that
justricc will triumph in the end, and that Rustavi-2 will be allowed to
work again. 
   The court left for consultation.
   The audinece did not have to wait long.
   Judge Gogi Tutberidze announced:
   The decision of the Mtatsminda district court remains in force!
   Everybody was stunned.
   Applause broke out all of a sudden.
   Applause to the court who so skillfully and kindly crucified freedom of
speech. Foreign observers shrugged their shoulders.  The opponents to
Rusta- vi-2 were looking at one another in bewilderment.  Even they were
expecting other verdict. 
   - It's absurdity, said Jarji Akimidze, one of the founders of 
Rustavi-2.
   - Absurdity, I repeated, the absurdity called democracy in our country.

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