The National Bureau of Enforcement is delaying the enforcement of the payment of compensation to the journalists released from the Broadcasting Company Rustavi 2 LLC. Transparency International - Georgia has been working for years to protect the rights of journalists. To date, it has handled the cases of about 400 journalists in various courts and administrative bodies. Among the cases handled by the organization, there are approximately 140 journalists who were dismissed from Rustavi 2 TV following the change in management in 2019. At this juncture, some of the cases have been resolved, while others remain pending in various courts. Additionally, the already won cases of 23 journalists have been referred to the National Bureau of Enforcement.

It is regrettable that Rustavi 2 TV has not voluntarily complied with the court order, and that the enforcement process has not been carried out in an effective manner. To satisfy the financial obligation, the debtor’s assets have not been evaluated, auctioned, or, in some instances, the obligatory measures - registration as a debtor, seizure, and collection of the property - have been initiated with a delay. The case pertains to the payment of wages, amounting to a total of tens of thousands of GEL, which Rustavi 2 TV is legally obligated to remit in accordance with the court’s binding decision.

Despite sending multiple letters to the National Bureau of Enforcement requesting effective action, Transparency International - Georgia has been unable to secure a response. This occurs in the context of the National Bureau of Enforcement’s initiation of the enforcement process without delay in response to the appeals of Davit Patsatsia, the brother-in-law of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, and Kakha Kaladze, the secretary general of Georgian Dream, in the case of Pirveli TV, a television station critical of the government. The Bureau has issued a one-week deadline for the television station to comply with the court’s decision. Otherwise, it warned of the possibility of forced enforcement.

The Bureau’s approach provides a clear illustration of the government’s double standard, which is designed to foster a favorable environment for broadcasters who are aligned with the government’s interests and to exert financial pressure on critical broadcasters in order to weaken their influence. This represents a further clear manifestation of state capture, whereby a government agency exercises its authority in a manner that is not in accordance with the law, but rather in alignment with the interests of the ruling power.