Cartu Bank, associated with the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, is currently embroiled in a legal dispute at the Tbilisi City Court against TV Company Pirveli and its journalists, Nodar Meladze and Maka Andronikashvili. Cartu Bank is seeking to have the information aired by the TV company recognised as defamatory and is requesting the dismissal of the pertinent statements.
We believe that groundless disputes initiated by influential individuals against the media on grounds of defamation are concerning. We contend that this pattern should be viewed as an abuse of the legal system, to unlawfully curtail freedom of speech and expression through the intimidation of civil society, often referred to as "SLAPP lawsuits." The trend of government officials filing groundless lawsuits and obtaining court rulings in their favour sets particularly dangerous precedents. This effectively transforms freedom of speech and expression into a subject of legal action, hampering the work of media professionals and giving rise to a chilling effect on freedom of expression.
It should be noted that despite the widespread problem of court congestion, the court began processing Cartu Bank’s lawsuit unusually swiftly. The initial session is scheduled to take place at the Tbilisi City Court on May 19, 2023, which is only 2 months after the lawsuit was filed (the hearing date was set only 4 days after the pleadings were submitted).
In one of the disputed TV news, the stories of people who took a loan from Cartu Bank were told, and due to non-fulfilment of the obligations under the loan agreement, some of the borrowers lost their property or came to the brink of bankruptcy. The second contentious story addressed the National Bank of Georgia's decision to impose a fine on Cartu Bank and the circumstances that underpinned the National Bank's determination.
While these stories effectively conveyed the experiences of the borrowers and their interactions with the bank, they were also grounded in the National Bank of Georgia's decision. However, according to the plaintiff, the published information is defamatory and injurious to the business's reputation.
In fact, neither the narrative nor the materials in the case provide any grounds for categorising the statements as defamatory. Furthermore, it is evident from the account that it represents evaluations formed based on publicly available information and the accounts of the interviewees, the denial of which is not permissible under the law. However, the case lacks any evidence indicating the falseness of the information, leading us to conclude that the plaintiff's objective is not to protect their rights but rather to unjustifiably curtail the freedom of speech and expression of media professionals.
It is worth mentioning that this is not the first instance of individuals or institutions linked to the oligarch resorting to legal action to curtail freedom of speech and expression. Over the past two years, defamation lawsuits against critical media outlets have become a systematic occurrence, often rooted in critical remarks made about the government and associated influential figures. It is noteworthy that these lawsuits primarily target individuals from critical media outlets such as Mtavari Arkhi, TV Pirveli and Formula. For instance, in addition to the case of TV Pirveli and Cartu Bank, prominent figures like the Mayor of Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze, the Minister of Finance and Economy of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, Jaba Putkaradze, and the Minister of Defense of Georgia, Juansher Burchuladze, have addressed the courts with SLAPP lawsuits.
The common courts' approach to SLAPP lawsuits is also alarming. Judges often ignore the dangers inherent in such disputes to civic engagement and public scrutiny. Judges hear and deliver decisions in these lawsuits at an unusually fast pace. We believe, such an approach by the courts could be influenced by several factors- systemic problems within the justice system among them.
GDI provides legal representation for TV Pirveli and journalists Nodar Meladze and Maka Andronikashvili in the court.
