Rustavi 2 TV Director Attacker Found Guilty

TBILISI – Rati Gachechiladze, 29, who attacked Nika Gvaramia, Rustavi 2 TV Director General, in early January, was found guilty by Tbilisi City Court judge on March 21st and was sentenced to pay GEL 3000 ($1208) fine.

The judge made the decision taking into account the fact that the attacker pleaded guilty and had not been convicted of a crime before.

The incident happened on January 7th, when Nika Gvaramia was having dinner in a restaurant with his friends, after his father’s funeral. He said the lights went out, and he was attacked in a dark by two or more people. He immediately called the police to report the attack. The victim suffered closed head trauma, concussion and soft tissue injuries, as a result of the incident.

Shortly after the brawl, Rati Gachechiladze admitted the assault in his Facebook post, taking full responsibility himself. He said the attack was his reaction to the “physical and moral abuse” his family had received from Gvaramia. Rati Gachechiladze’s father, Levan Gachechiladze, was a presidential candidate in the 2008 presidential elections, coming second after ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili.

As for Gvaramia, he was one of the most outspoken members of the then-ruling and now opposition party United National Movement (UNM). He served as a Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2007. He was then appointed First Deputy Prosecutor General of Georgia in March 2007. On on January 31st, 2008, he was appointed Minister of Justice. He served as the Minister of Justice until October 27, 2008. He was then appointed as the Minister of Science and Education, a position he quit in December of the following year.

He has served as the Director General of Rustavi 2 since November 2012. 

By Thea Morrison