"Rustavi-2" bosses not to dismiss journalist Giorgi Gabuniya

Nika Gvaramiya, Director General of the "Rustavi-2" Georgian TV Company, has stated that he will not dismiss journalist Giorgi Gabuniya, who made abusing statements on air addressed to the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 8, several hundred people staged a protest action outside the office of the "Rustavi-2" in Tbilisi. The reason was Gabuniya's insult of Putin. The Georgian President, Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) have treated these statements as "provocation."

Gabuniya has been removed from air for two months, but then he will continue working for the "Rustavi-2", Mr Gvaramiya said on the "Gromadske TV" Ukrainian Channel. He has treated the journalist's insulting the Russian president as a "legitimate" goal, but noted that the form Gabuniya had used prevented the achievement thereof.

The "Rustavi-2" Director General has also noted that after Gabuniya's statement the rating of the TV programme has only gone up.

Earlier, Nika Gvaramiya apologized for Gabuniya's behaviour, stating that he shared his dissatisfaction with Russia's policy, but believes that the journalist should have expressed it "in a more acceptable form." At the same time, he has treated the attempt of Georgian politicians, who had harshly criticized the journalist's statements as censorship.