The GDI Chairperson Eduard Marikashvili has submitted an appeal to the Georgian National Communications Commission regarding Alt-Info TV, and asked it to impose administrative fines against them for administrative offences.
We believe the statements made by TV Alt-Info serve the purpose of justifying criminal acts and violations of international humanitarian law by the Russian Federation and idealize violence, which is forbidden by the Law on Broadcasters of Georgia.
On February 24, 2022, after Russian Federation invaded Ukraine and attacked peaceful population, Alt-Info, through its various TV shows, is trying to accuse Ukraine and blame them for their Pro-Western orientation. Such statements allow Alt-Info to justify Russia’s war in Ukraine, its indiscriminate use of lethal force and hence, violation of human rights norms. Therefore, we believe that the entire narrative of Alt-Info’s broadcasting is to exculpate Russia’s crimes against humanity by using Ukraine’s pro-Western course as a supporting argument for such actions. Also, they blatantly idealize the person behind all of this, Putin and his actions, which the broadcaster uses to again to glorify aggressive military intervention, add moral reasoning to war crimes and argue for it.
We also note that on March 02, 2022, the UK started and 39 sovereign countries, Georgia included, joined forces, asking the international Criminal Court to investigate the violation of international humanitarian law and its norms by Russia in Ukraine. Therefore, the international community and Georgia hold a sovereign position that, since February 24, 2022, the Russian military aggression against Ukraine and its actions against the Ukrainian population directly violate international humanitarian law and Russia is committing crimes against humanity.
Besides international humanitarian law, Russia’s actions are a crime under Georgia’s Criminal Code Article 404-413, which concern crimes against international peace, security and international humanitarian law.
GDI calls on the Georgian National Communications Commission to consider the urgency of the matter and hear the case in an expedited and prompt manner.
