Shalva Ramishvili’s defense lawyer Davit Korkotashvili said on August 28 that his client has gone on hunger strike to protest his arrest. The co-founder of Tbilisi-based 202 television station was arrested on August 27 and charged with extortion.

“Shalva Ramishvili has not yet testified. He says that he is innocent, claiming that the case against him was fabricated and describes it as a provocation,” lawyer Davit Korkotashvili told reporters.

Ramishvili is accused of an attempt to extort USD 100,000 from parliamentarian from the ruling National Movement party Koba Bekauri. Police said Ramishvili threatened to air a compromising story about Bekauri if the latter refused to pay.

Meanwhile a group of investigators tried to carry out a search in the office of the 202 TV on August 28, but law enforcers were barred from entering the office by the employees of the television, as the investigators failed to present a search warrant.

In other developments, investigative journalists from the organization “Reporter” said on August 28, that MP Bekauri is intimidating them.

Journalists from “Reporter” were working on an investigation into MP Koba Bekauri’s alleged wrongdoings related with the customs terminal “Opiza.” This terminal, according to this investigative reporting, is owned by MP Bekauri and currently rented by the Georgian Customs Service. “Reporter” has a contract with the 202 television according to which the investigative stories produced by the organization are aired by the  station.

Vakhtang Komakhidze of “Reporter” told news agency InterPressNews that Koba Bekauri called several times to another journalist from “Reporter” demanding that the investigation over his activities cease.