Prosecutor General Charges Vitali Guguchia with Obstructing Journalistic Activities

On August 5, the Prosecutor General of Georgia charged Vitali Guguchia, the person who, in a video that went viral, reprimanded Georgian Dream spin-off People’s Power MP Viktor Japaridze for the adoption of the Foreign Agents Law, with obstructing the journalistic activities of the journalist and cameraman of PosTV.

The propagandist pro-government channel PosTV, known for its anti-Western and anti-liberal agenda, is co-owned by People’s Power MP Viktor Japaridze – the very same person involved in the highly publicized end of May incident.

Natia Beridze and her cameraman from the pro-government propagandist channel PosTV, showed up at the home of Vitali Guguchia in the village of Samegrelo (Western Georgia) on May 31 while he was attending the funeral of a relative. Beridze inquired about the verbal confrontation that occurred between MP Japaridze and Guguchia on May 29. Guguchia, another GD critic and activist against the Agent’s law, had reprimanded MP Japaridze for passing the “Russian law” that will ruin the European future of his four children. Guguchia soon became the target of an intense smear campaign by pro-government media, accusing him of secret operations under the United National Movement government. The accusations were repeated by the PosTV journalist, and the encounter escalated into a physical altercation between Guguchia and the cameraman.

“The investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Service revealed that on May 31, 2024, journalist N.B. and cameraman B.D. of the television channel “PosTV” came to the village of Kakhati, Zugdidi municipality, near the defendant’s house to record an interview with V.G. V.G., an opponent of the editorial policy of the television company “PosTV”, expressed verbal aggression towards the journalist and cameraman, after which he physically assaulted the cameraman. As a result, the media representatives could not carry out their professional activities on the spot,” – reports the Prosecutor General.

Guguchia is charged with the first part of Article 126 (beating causing physical pain) and the first part of Article 154 (unlawful obstruction of a journalist in his professional activity) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which are punishable by up to one year in prison. The Prosecutor General’s Office plans to apply to the court within the time limit established by law, requesting the use of bail as a preventive measure.

Also Read:

• 02/08/2024 – Amendments to Criminal Code’s Article 187: Government’s Tool to Punish its Opponents
• 25/07/2024 – Two Cases of Attacks on Journalists in a Single Day

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