The Prime Minister of Georgia said the case involving Nika Gvaramia, the head of Mtavari Arkhi, was a matter of courts and not the Government. Such a statement Irakli Garibashvili made on the sidelines of the Georgia Cybersecurity Forum.

The comment came after the channel on Tuesday, June 20, said the country’s Supreme Court had declared a lawsuit by Gvaramia’s legal team inadmissible.

As the Prime Minister said, anyone questioning media pluralism in Georgia had “no understanding” of the media environment in the country.

He stressed there had been “practically no normal, strong, independent opposition channels” before the current Government took office in 2012, contrasting the situation with “many [such] channels” in existence currently.