Patarkatsishvili family demands "Imedi" back

The family of the deceased businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili, who was the founder of "Imedi", has treated the hoax about invasion of Russian troops into the country as a provocative experiment and demanded to immediately return the confiscated TV Company back to them.

"We believe that this provocative experiment undertaken against the society is another bright evidence of the fact that the TV Channel has turned into a tool of direct propaganda and intimidation in the hands of the authorities," runs the statement of the Patarkatsishvili family disseminated today. Now the family holds litigation for the property of billionaire Badri with his distant relative Joseph Kay.

The latter stated earlier that he had sold 90 percent in the "Imedi" TV Company, "Imedi" Radio and "Technomedia" Company to the RAK Georgia Holding, having left only 10 percent in his hands.

The IA "News-Georgia" reports with reference to the family that "the channel based on democratic values from its inception, then taken away from its lawful owners and now contested in international courts, today is completely degraded both morally and financially." Therefore, the family demands that "the channel has been immediately returned to the family," which is going "to restore it."

Some Russian outlets write in their comments on the scandalous report that it could not appear without a permit of Georgian authorities. In the opinion of the "Nezavisimaya Gazeta", this is confirmed by the fact that the "Imedi" boss is Georgiy Arveladze, Saakashvili's supporter and former head of his administration.

This information was categorically refuted by Petre Tsiskarishvili, leader of the parliamentary majority. "In no case it's an element of the governmental propaganda. The report that was put on air was invented by a private TV company," he has stated and added as a confirmation that the Georgian army was depicted "unattractively" in the hoax.

President of Georgia has also put the negative presentation of the Georgian army under sharp criticism. "The reporting gave unfair references to the Georgian army, which had demonstrated unprecedented courage during the August War. We should be careful with the army - the pillar of the Georgian statehood," Mr Saakashvili has emphasized.

The "Georgia Online" reports that the Association of Psychologists and Psychotherapists has voiced indignation with the report produced by the "Imedi" TV Company, having treated it as "a requiem of Georgia's hope."

The Association believes that such "coverage of the topic is inadmissible and demands greater deliberation, professional consultations and account of the interests of the population," especially "given the stressful background mainly caused by Georgian-Russian relations."