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Rivals stake claim to Imedi TV

Georgia network off the air since Dec. 26

By NICK HOLDSWORTH

Imedi was forced off the air in early November for 29 days after riot police and troops raided it, causing millions of dollars in damage, during a week of public disturbances in Tbilisi.

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Georgia's troubled News Corp.-run Imedi TV inched closer to reopening on Monday, when it emerged that a distant relative of founder Badri Patarkatsishvili, who died last month at age 52, was claiming majority ownership.

Joseph Kay, a U.S. citizen whom Russian media reports identified as previously known as Yusif Kakalashvili, may meet staffers at the commercial TV and radio station in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi as early as today to discuss his plans.

Imedi has been off the air since Dec. 26, when political pressure in the run-up to a snap presidential election ended broadcasts.

Ina Gudavadze, Patarkatsishvili's widow, has also claimed ownership of the station.

Kay's ownership documents are dated Nov. 14. Gudavadze claims her late husband -- who stood as a presidential candidate against incumbent Mikhail Saakashvili in Georgia's early January elections -- could not have signed legal papers that day as he was in their home near London and entertaining friends until late at night.

A Monday report in Russian newspaper Kommersant quoting an unidentified source close to exiled Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky -- a friend and business partner of Patarkatsishvili -- supported Gudavadze's version.

The station has been run by News Corp. under power of attorney since October, when Patarkatsishvili increased his political activities in a failed attempt to oust Saakashvili as president.

Tbilisi-based News Corp. exec Lewis Robertson declined to speculate Monday on Kay's ownership claim or a timetable for the station's return to the air.

"I have met with (Kay) but am not commenting on our meeting," he said. "He has to show ownership proof, and he has not yet done so."

The station was forced off the air in early November for 29 days after riot police and troops raided it, causing millions of dollars in damage, during a week of public disturbances in Tbilisi.

The station went back on air Dec. 7, only to close down again after renewed political pressures on Dec. 26.