Critical Scientist Says Government Tries to Discredit Her

Tea Godoladze, the director of the National Seismic Monitoring Center at Ilia State University, says the government has launched a media campaign aimed at silencing her criticism of the policies that, she believes, contributed to the loss of lives during the recent mudslide in Shovi.

The statement comes after the TV channel “Rustavi 2,” seen as supportive of the administration, aired a report saying Godoladze was accused of domestic violence. The news was amplified by pro-governmental social media pages.

Earlier, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili criticized Tea Godoladze’s statements after the Shovi landslide and accused her of sabotage, saying, “We have one or two such people who create panic during a crisis, with absolute lies… lies that were spread during the crisis, and this is the usual sabotage and a stab in the back of the country”.

Godoladze took to Facebook to share her perspective and said the false accusation of domestic violence claim was made by her former partner, Teimuraz Shergelashvili, “who is currently accused of physical and psychological abuse against me on the grounds of gender discrimination.” The scientist said the government tries to instrumentalize this private case to discredit her in the eyes of the public.

The non-governmental organization “Sapari,” which has been representing Godoladze in her trial with her former partner, believes that the purpose of the “black PR campaign” is to “damage her reputation as a professional,” the statement reads. “She has been the subject of repeated verbal attacks, including from government officials,” Sapari said.

The NGO “Social Justice Center” (SJC) also reacted, saying the government tries to discredit independent, critical science. “Such communication harms society as a whole, whose interest and right it is to be fully informed about the state of the environment. It is clear, however, that such a campaign aimed at discrediting Godoladze has a chilling effect on the freedom of expression,” SJC argues.

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