Imedi TV owner recalls 2007 raid, claims United National Movement now using lies instead of weapons

Irakli Rukhadze, the owner of Imedi TV, on Friday recalled the dramatic events of November 7, 18 years ago, when the TV station was raided by special forces during the 2007 political crisis.

Rukhadze noted that while the then-ruling United National Movement party attempted to silence Imedi TV with weapons in 2007, they are now trying to achieve the same goal using lies.

“On that day, our group was hit last, they stormed into Imedi TV in the evening”, Rukhadze recounted.

He described a coordinated effort by the previous UNM government to seize control of assets belonging to Badri Patarkatsishvili, the Imedi holding company founder, before the raid on the TV station itself.

“In the morning, Mtatsminda Park was taken from us, supposedly the City Hall was initiating action against us. Then they raided Borjomi and Standard Bank... supposedly the Tax Service independently entered Borjomi, the City Hall entered Mtatsminda Park, the National Bank - Standard Bank, and here [at Imedi] the Prosecutor's Office and the judiciary stormed in”, he said.

Rukhadze stressed that the speed with which the legal process - from Patarkatsishvili's speech at a rally to the subsequent raid - was conducted was “absolutely impossible”, given the short timeframe to get a court decision and mobilise the special forces.

Rukhadze drew a direct parallel between the 2007 events and the current political climate, claiming the opposition was using the same playbook, albeit with different tools.

“Now they are doing exactly the same, they are also building on lies about how to close Imedi. Now they have a new method, to have Imedi sanctioned, and you can imagine what they would do to Imedi if they returned to power”, Rukhadze continued.

He specifically mentioned attempts to involve the UK, arguing that the UNM and its allies are spreading new fabrications, such as an alleged story that he stopped a British journalist from entering the country.

“They are now pushing for the UK because America cannot sanction me, Europe cannot sanction me for other reasons, and now they are looking at the UK. So, now they want to silence us again, but not with weapons, but with the UK”, Rukhadze concluded.