Two Cases of Attacks on Journalists in a Single Day
Two media crews, one from opposition-leaning Mtavari TV and another from regional TV Monitoring, were targeted in a single day, and verbally and physically assaulted on July 25 in connection with their professional duties. Mtavari TV blamed government-led thugs for the attack on its crew, while the TV Monitoring crew was attacked by minibus drivers who were unhappy with a report aired on their TV station several days earlier.
Journalist Lado Menabde and cameraman Manuchar Mzhavanadze of Mtavari TV were attacked by about four people in the village of Supsa, in the Guria region of western Georgia. Recalling the incident, he says that a man began swearing at TV Mtavari and then at them personally. Although the TV crew tried to avoid provoking him, he approached, spat in the journalist’s face and kicked him. The attack was recorded. Then four other people came and started beating Mtavari TV’s crew members and broke their camera. The two men had to call the emergency.
Lado Menabde links the attack on him to the report he had been working on since the morning of that day. As part of the report, he was looking for a police officer near the police station who he knew had personal ties to Adiko Ivanishvili, Bidzina Ivanishvili’s brother. The latter had used his personal connections to get a fired policeman reinstated.
“Today, the pro-government thugs [tytushki] attacked journalist Lado Menabde and cameraman Manuchar Mzhavanadze of Mtavari TV’s Guria bureau while they were carrying out their journalistic duties, assaulting them and damaging their equipment,” Mtavari TV said in its statement, calling on “all relevant government agencies” to “immediately” investigate the case and bring those responsible to justice. It has not yet been reported whether an investigation has been launched into the case.
Another attack took place against the crew of TV Monitoring, journalist and cameraman Beka Pirveli and Shota Sadaghashvili. The incident took place in Tbilisi.
Beka Pirveli suggested that the attack on him and his colleague was triggered by their recent TV report on uncomfortable and unsafe conditions on the Tbilisi-Gori-Tbilisi bus route, including the lack of air conditioning on hot summer days and the use of tiny chairs by drivers as extra seats to accommodate as many passengers as possible.
The attackers were bus drivers who recognized Pirveli and Dadaghashvili as TV Monitoring staff. According to Beka Pirveli, the incident began when the driver refused to let them on his bus because of their TV report, which was followed by the attack by other five men.
One of the crew members was soon hospitalized with injuries to his head and other parts of his body. Another has his hand sprained. According to TV Monitoring , all relevant authorities have been informed about the case.
Interference with a journalist’s professional activities is punishable under Article 154 of Georgian Criminal Law.
UPDATE: Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based press freedom watchdog, made a statement reacting to the attacks on journalists. The RSF “condemns the increasing violence against journalists and urges the MIA of Georgia to conduct independent investigations to bring the perpetrators to justice and fight impunity.”
On July 26, the Special Investigation Service said that it had arrested two people for the violence against the journalist and cameraman of Mtavari TV. The investigation is being conducted under Article 156, Part 2, Subparagraph “a” of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which envisages punishment for the persecution of a person in connection with his or her professional activity. The crime is punishable by up to three years of imprisonment.
This article was updated on July 26 at 13:25 to reflect the statements by the RSF and the Special Investigation Service.
Also Read:
- 16/05/2024 – RSF Calls for Transparent Investigation of Attacks on Journalists
- 25/12/2023 – TI Georgia: 45 Cases of Attacks on Georgian Media in 2023
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