Court Partly Satisfies Former Adjara TV Head in Dismissal Case

On July 22, the Batumi City Court partially satisfied the case lodged by Shorena Glonti, former head of the newsroom of Adjara TV and Radio Company, a Batumi-based public broadcaster.

The Court confirmed to Civil.ge that while it did not satisfy Glonti’s request to be reinstated as head of the newsroom, it did recognize that her dismissal was illegal and ordered Adjara TV to pay Glonti GEL 20,000 (USD 6,800) and a penalty of GEL 2,500 (USD 850) for every month since she was dismissed up until the date of the Court’s decision.

The Social Justice Center, local watchdog representing Glonti, stated that it would continue to represent her on appeal to be reinstated as head of the newsroom.

Glonti filed the case under the representation of the center in 2020 on the grounds that she was illegally dismissed on February 28, 2020, from her post after disciplinary procedures had been launched against her earlier. Adjara TV first came under fire in 2019 when Natia Kapanadze, the director at the time, was fired by the company board and replaced by Giorgi Kokhreidze. Kokhreidze proceeded to dismiss staff with opposing views to the TV’s leadership, which resulted in widespread concern about the threat to the independence of Adjara TV’s editorial policy. 

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