A regional radio station claims it is being pressured into airing favorable coverage of incumbent presidential candidate Mikheil Saakashvili, releasing a recording of a man warning the station director he could face the same fate as Imedi TV.

Imedi TV was raided and ransacked by special forces troops on November 7 for allegedly airing statements calling for the overthrow of the state.

Ramaz Samkharadze, the director general of Radio Hereti, based in the Kakhetian town of Lagodekhi, took his case to the human rights ombudsman on December 3.

Samkharadze claims a renewal of his radio station’s broadcast license is being held up, even after submitting all the proper paperwork, as part of an intimidation campaign. He says a man affiliated with Saakashvili’s National Movement warned the station not to air coverage critical of the ruling party.

“I’ve recorded all of these things, and we have proof that the National Movement’s ally was threatening us,” Samkharadze said on December 10.

On December 8, the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) released a statement explaining why they have withheld Radio Hereti’s license. The station did not pay the necessary license fees by the May 20, 2007 deadline, the GNCC stated.

Samkharadze insists they paid the fees two days ahead of the deadline, and sent the Messenger signed documents to prove it.

Kakheti governor Gia Natsvlishvili also made a public rebuff of Radio Hereti’s accusations on December 8. The government has not offered any payment or put any pressure on news media in Kakheti, he assured journalists.

“If [the central government] wanted an arrangement with someone here, they would have asked me [to do it] and not someone else,” Natsvlishvili said, according to the NewsGeorgia news agency. “This [threat] was made by an adventurer, and I’m sure it has no connection with Mikheil Saakashvili.”

Natsvlishvili gave his personal guarantee there would be no pressure on the media in Kakheti, and said he doesn’t know Isako Tskipurishvili, the man Samkharadze alleges approached him with a deal from the government.

In 2003, Tskipurishvili ran unsuccessfully for a parliament seat as a majoritarian candidate from Kakheti.

On December 5, Human Rights Ombudsman Sozar Subari held a briefing on media freedom in Georgia, singling out Radio Hereti’s claims as a worrisome case of the “endless attempts to exert pressure upon the media.”

Subari requested acting President Nino Burjanadze to personally look into Hereti’s case, according to NewsGeorgia.

Subari’s office provided the Messenger with an audio recording of a conversation between Samkharadze and Tskipurishvili. In the recording, which the Ombudsman’s Office did not verify as authentic, Tskipurishvili can be heard apparently relaying a threat to suspend the radio station’s license.

A translated transcription follows:

Tskipurishvili: They will block your license. They say that you won’t be able to cover all of Kakheti.

Samkharadze: Why? I don’t get–

Tskipurishvili: Let me say, [Zurab] Adeishvili came here as the head of Misha [Saakashvili]’s headquarters, bypassing the governor. And don’t forget, this order comes from [National Movement party leader Davit] Kirkitadze.

Reached for comment, Kirkitadze said he doesn’t know any of the people involved, and has no idea why his name was mentioned.

“A week ago, I asked both the Ombudsman’s Office and the Prosecutor General’s Office to investigate this case, because I really know nothing about this,” Kirkitadze said.

The Ombudsman’s press center confirmed that Kirkitadze expressed a wish to cooperate with their investigation.

In the recording, Tskipurishvili also tells Samkharadze that he will be paid in return for favorable news coverage of campaign events.

Tskipurishvili: However much you say, they’ll put that much in your account. The head of the Chamber of Control is involved in this case, Ramaz, everything comes from him.

…They say that if you won’t negotiate with us, they’ll pull your license and I’m telling you, they’ll raid your building and destroy everything, and you will have trouble. People can’t open Imedi, why do you want to get involved in this battle?

…They asked me to help them. They know that his reputation is very bad here in Lagodekhi, and they also know that nobody will vote for Misha. They are trying their best to get 7500 votes here. They’ve also promised me some kind of promotion, they’ll probably [give me] the district.

Tskipurishvili denies all of Samkharadze’s claims. Tskipurishvili said the two men used to be friends, and acknowledges that it is his voice in the recording—but alleges the tape is a forgery.

“I really didn’t know that he was recording our conversation, and I’m sure that there is some misunderstanding. I don’t know any of the people he is talking about. This tape is edited,” Tskipurishvili said.