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Georgian president pardons jailed opposition journalist

June 23 (UPI) -- Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili pardoned a jailed journalist on Thursday, to the celebration of press freedom organizations, the European Union and his family.

Nika Gvaramia, director of main opposition-leaning Mtavari TV, was sentenced to three and a half years after being found guilty on May 16, 2022, on charges of abuse of power and harming the business interests of a different channel in connection to his work for them in 2019. Critics described his jailing as politically motivated and a use of the justice system to censor critical media and government opponents.

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After spending a year before bars, Gvaramia was released Thursday night after being pardoned.

"Today, I signed the decree on pardoning Nika Gvaramia. I made this decision after all legal steps were exhausted on June 19 and when the Supreme Court did not accept the cassation suit for consideration," she said in a statement, referring to the high court's recent decision to reject Gvaramia's appeal.

"I'm not going to give you any explanation for that decision, because it's my discretionary right that I use today."

Video of his release published on Twitter by Mtavari TV shows Gvaramia leave the jail to cheering from the crowd assembled before being embraced by his family.

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"Without persistent support & pressure coming from our international partners, Nika's freedom today would not have been possible," his wife, Sofia Liluashvili, said in a statement published to Twitter.

"On behalf of our family, thank you for standing by our side & fighting with us for [Georgia's] democratic, European future!"

Zurabishvili pardoned Gvaramia after the country's Supreme Court earlier this week rejected his appeal, which prompted the U.S. embassy in Georgia to issue a statement reiterating its "deep concern" over his imprisonment.

The United States has raised issue over Gvaramia's detainment before. In the U.S. State Department's 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for Georgia, it included Gvaramia's situation over concerns about political prisoners, the country's trial procedures and freedom of expression.

On Thursday, the European Council said President Charles Michel "welcomed" Gvaramia's release as "an essential step towards depolarization in Georgia."

The Committee to Protect Journalists also celebrated his release.

"We are thrilled that Nika Gvaramia has been pardoned," Gulnoza Said, CPJ program coordinator for Europe and Central Asia, said in a statement.

"He should never have been jailed, and his continued imprisonment stood at odds with the country's purported commitment to press freedom."

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