TBILISI, October 13 – Georgia’s State Security Service has launched an investigation into possible sabotage after one of the country’s leading broadcasters, TV Imedi, and two affiliated channels suddenly went off the air for nearly an hour on Monday.
According to the agency’s statement, the investigation began following a formal request from TV Imedi. The station’s broadcast stopped abruptly at 17:48 local time and remained off the air for about 45 minutes. Two other channels owned by the same media holding, Maestro and GDS, also went dark during the outage.
“Relevant investigative measures are underway,” the State Security Service said, citing Article 318 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which deals with sabotage.
Earlier, TV Imedi issued its own statement describing the interruption as an “unexpected” and “unexplained” technical failure but said it could not rule out the possibility of “a criminal act directed against the channel.”
The simultaneous shutdown of three major broadcasters drew attention across Georgia, where TV Imedi is one of the most-watched stations. The cause of the blackout has not yet been determined, and neither the government nor the broadcaster has disclosed any further details about the possible source of the disruption.
TV Imedi is part of a private media holding that also operates entertainment and news channels, including Maestro and GDS, which share infrastructure and broadcast facilities.
