Who Owned Georgia English.pdf

TV Evropa says technical difficulties had prevented thestation from operating, a claim substantiated by the GeorgianTele-Radio Centre. TV Evropa sued for an annulment of GNCC’sdecision. Both the civil and appeals courts ruled in favor of theCommission, but the Supreme Court reversed the decision andsent the case back to the civil court for review. This decision didnot give TV Evropa the right to renew broadcasting, but stationmanagers believed they could translate Euronews and broadcastit, which they did on November 28 and 29. The GNCC remindedthem that the Supreme Court’s decision did not allow themto continue broadcasting, so TV Evropa stopped broadcastingimmediately. 77On November 30th, GNCC lawyer, Kakhi Kurashvili,testified that the Commission incurred losses of up to 50,000 GELdue to Evropa’s illegal broadcast. 78“The damage was calculated by an investigation that revealedTV company Evropa illegally used frequencies without a license…it was calculated and determined proportionally to the fee of thelicense… Otherwise, if this frequency should be bid on, whatwould its price be on a competitive basis?” Kurashvili attested. 79TV Evropa had agreed to pay 3,500 GEL annually for a 10year, 35,000 GEL license, which made Kurashvili’s sum seempretty random, yet after his testimony, the Organized CrimeDepartment (OCD) began legal proceedings against the ownersof the TV station. 80“About 15 people came in, all dressed in OCD uniforms,only three of them were dressed as civilians,” said technicianIrakli Sharashidze. “They arrested our (executive) director LoidJikaridze and started gathering equipment from all the rooms,including the roof. There were two big trucks waiting for77 Ibid78 Ibid79 Ibid80 Ibid23