The Tbilisi Court of Appeals has rejected the defamation claim against the Communications Commission by Nasib Hasanov, who purchased a stake in Caucasus Online without the Commission’s approval. The court did not deem the statements made by the Commission to amount to defamation, and annulled the decision of the city court.

The case concerns the unlawful sale of Caucasus Online shares in 2019 and 2020. According to the legislation of Georgia, an authorised person must obtain prior consent from the Communications Commission for the sale of shares. By bypassing this requirement, Nasib Hasanov unlawfully purchased an indirect 49% stake in the company. Following the imposition of several fines by the Communications Commission on Caucasus Online, Nasib Hasanov proceeded to unlawfully acquire the remaining 51% stake in the company in August 2020, once again bypassing the Commission.  

In order to properly inform the public about the aforementioned violations, the Communications Commission made several public statements, which Nasib Hasanov claimed to be defamatory. However, the Court of Appeals ruled that the statements made by the Commission served to fulfil its lawful duty to share its substantiated views on Caucasus Online with the public.