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bne June 2022 EuraEusraisaia I 67
Also at the summit, Putin said the CSTO was planning a "series of joint exercises in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the autumn".
Putin also told the gathering that Moscow, during its invasion of Ukraine, had obtained "documentary evidence of components of biological weapons being essentially created" near Russia's borders.
"Possible methods and mechanisms
of destabilising the epidemiological situation in post-Soviet space were being worked on," he claimed. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, meanwhile, accused fellow CSTO countries of disinterest in their
obligations to each other. "Last year, these days, Azerbaijani troops invaded the sovereign territory of Armenia. Armenia turned to the CSTO with
a request to launch the mechanisms provided for by the CSTO response procedure. Unfortunately, it cannot be said that the organisation reacted as Armenia expected," he said.
“In addition, we have long been raising the issue of the sale of weapons by
the CSTO member states to countries unfriendly to Armenia. As a result, these weapons were used against Armenia and the Armenian people. This is also
a problem. To be honest, the reaction of the CSTO member states during the
44-day war, after the war, did not inspire Armenia and the Armenian people. But
I want to emphasise the special role of Russia and Russian President Putin in ending hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia continues to adhere to the tripartite statements of 9 November,
11 January and 26 November. Armenia is committed to the further development of the CSTO.
"We regard the organisation as a key factor in ensuring stability and security in the Eurasian region, and the security of Armenia. In general, we are positively disposed towards the full support
of the organisation and its further development," Pashinyan added.
Critical TV director jailed in Georgia
Javid Agha in Baku
The Tbilisi City Court found Nika Gvaramia, Director General of Mtavari Arkhi TV, guilty of causing damage to Rustavi-2 TV company while serving as director and sentenced him
to three years and six months in prison on May 16.
Gvaramia denied all the accusations and said they were politically motivated. “I am an innocent person, what will
the criminal regime do, what can I say now?” he told reporters before the judge delivered the verdict. “My arrest will be, in a sense, a step towards Russia. If there is an argument in favour of
the arrest, it is that the road to Russia would be further shortened,” he told Formula TV.
Rustavi 2, a free-to-air TV channel, is regarded as close to the main opposition party, the UNM of jailed former premier Mikheil Saakashvili.
Gvaramia, who was indicted by the prosecutor's office shortly after being fired from Rustavi 2 in 2019, was found guilty on two counts by the court. The first was for an advertising contract concluded with the Porsche Centre in
February 2019, for which, according to the prosecutor's office, Gvaramia and his family received an expensive car (worth €76,700) in return for reducing Rustavi 2 ad placement prices in 2015.
The second count concerns Gvaramia’s alleged abuse of power in 2015, when, according to the prosecutor’s office, Rustavi 2 TV company suffered a loss of GEL6.76mn ($2.2mn) due to an advertising contract with Inter Media Plus. For this reason, the judge fined Gvaramia GEL50,000 (€16,000), although, under Article 59 of the Criminal Code, the heavier penalty swallowed up the punishment for
the lesser crime.
The court acquitted Gvaramia under articles 221 (3), 194 (3, "c") and 362
(2, "b") of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which deal with commercial bribery, money laundering and the manufacture, sale or use of a forged document, seal, stamp or letterhead.
Gvaramia's lawyer Dmitry Sadzaglishvili said that the defence will appeal the court's decision to a higher authority. “We saw a very clear choice made today
by the authorities in favour of Russia,” he told reporters today. “In Western democracies, critical media directors are not arrested or prosecuted for dissent,” he added.
Gvaramia's arrest came amid growing concerns about press freedom, the independence of the judiciary, and alleged political persecution in the country. Commenting on the sentence, the US Embassy in Georgia released
a statement saying that it "casts doubt on Georgia's commitment to the rule
of law and highlights the fundamental importance of an independent and impartial judiciary in Georgia". According to the embassy, "the worrying practice of selective investigations and prosecutions" of opposition figures "undermines the public's confidence
in the police, prosecutors, courts and the government itself".
“The court fulfilled a political order by punishing the head of critical television, Nika Gvaramia,” Transparency International Georgia said after
the ruling, adding the decision was politically motivated and a blow to free speech.
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