• On August 15, the GNCC assessed Mtavari Arkhi’s two video footages as political advertisements and imposed [1] a GEL 2,500 fine on the TV channel. The first footage [2] describes how Radio Marneuli supports Georgia’s EU integration process. The second footage demonstrates, with the support of music, anti-Russian-law protests. According to the GNCC, “the footage drives the public perception against those political associations and their representatives who have voted for the adoption of the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence. Therefore, the GNCC considers that the video footages pursue an objective to prevent election of those political forces in the upcoming elections who are supportive of the above law.”

The GNCC decision unjustifiably infringes upon the TV channel’s freedom of expression. The GNCC has invoked a general provision of law and arbitrarily expanded the area of its application to extend the ban on political advertising to non-election periods, despite the fact that the law does not prohibit that. The decision sets a dangerous precedent for democracy as it lays down a standard banning any criticism of Parliament’s decisions. It is noteworthy that the videos do not contain any reference to any political party. Instead, they intend to criticize certain public policies, a conduct that is unthinkable to be restricted in a pluralistic society.