Independent Batumi TV Channel 25 Shut Down

With the shut down of the independent Batumi’s TV-25, the station’s employees have not worked in several days.

“Law enforcement has forbidden us from broadcasting news items without legal documentation,” stated Channel 25’s founder, Merab Merkviladze.

On November 7th at 1:00 AM, criminal police officers and riot police entered the independent TV station. The operation was executed on the orders of Davit Bedia, head of the Adjara Main Department within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Since that raid, TV-25 has been closed.

Although the state of emergency was not initially declared for all of Georgia, the Batumi-based independent TV station was still banned from broadcasting news items. In a conversation with Merab Merkviladze recalls a conversation with David Bedia where he tried to explain the situation. “’I am just executing the orders of high-ranking officials, he said,’” Merkviladze recalls. “They have blocked the Makhinjauri TV tower we use to transmit our programs. They have taken the element we use for transmitting. Nothing there, however, was damaged.”

TV-25 is the only independent TV station in Adjara. TV-25’s competitor, Adjara TV, is still broadcasting, but without any news items. Merkviladze thinks his TV station was targeted because the government failed to control or impact TV-25. “I cannot think of another reason,” Merkviladze says. “Broadcasting soap operas and music is too easy for us. Our main problem is that the government does not trust us and fails to influence us. Our TV station used to broadcast movies or documentary films as well as music. In the evening at 8:30 and at 10:00 we had the MACNE news program.

On November 7th, Bedia promised Merkviladze that employees would be permitted inside TV-25’s office and could go on with their work. The next day police banned personnel from entering the premises. Merkviladze hopes that after the state of emergency is lifted, TV 25 will be alble to renew its activities.

David Bedia was not available for comment. Maia Gorgadze, the spokeswoman for theAdjara Main Department within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, advised us to get in touch with Shota Khizanishvili, the head of MIA Administration. Khizanishvili did not answer our phone calls.

Maka Malakmadze, Batumi