Pressure from the authorities on businesses with ads on Kavkasia TV is continuing, the television station said on Monday.

Speaking at a news conference on July 7, Nino Jangirashvili, the director of the Tbilisi-based television station, called on the authorities to stop “forcing” businesses to withdraw ads from the station.

“There is only one reason [behind the alleged pressure] – to destroy Kavkasia TV,” Jangirashvili added.

The pressure started, she said, in late June when at least three companies suspended ad contracts with the television station, citing pressure from the authorities. Some others followed in the ensuing weeks, Jangirashvili said, but she declined to name the companies.

The television station, which covers only the capital city, Tbilisi, and is seen as a major platform for the opposition, also said that the financial police – a unit within the Revenue Service – was behind the pressure on the businesses. Nika Gilauri, the finance minister, denied the allegation in late June when it was first levelled by Kavkasia TV.

The TV station’s management also said that although currently there was no financial threat, it was thinking about “a transparent mechanism” to receive donations from the channel’s viewers in order to be prepared for the worst case scenario.