The founder and director of the Trialeti TV channel, Jondo Nanetashvili, has requested France to provide him political asylum, on the eve of French President Nikolas Sarkozy’s visit to Georgia, Interfax reports.
Trialeti provides real information on processes in the Shida Kartli Region and Georgia. The government pressurizes the company morally and physically. Unidentified assailants took Nanetashvili from his vehicle and beat him up at the central square of Gori a year ago, he says.
The regional authorities demanded Nanetashvili to sell his company, he says. Refusals to do so were followed with threats of bankruptcy. Businesses refused to post adverts. The police beat up several staff members of the TV channel, its director says. There is also police spying on staff.
Sarkozy will visit Georgia on Friday.
