Activist Summoned for Questioning on Alleged Obstruction of Pro-Government Imedi TV Crew

Niko Managadze, a young activist, says he was summoned for questioning by the Special Investigation Service (SIS) on allegations of obstructing a pro-government Imedi TV crew during protests in Tbilisi.

The summons follows a November 19 statement by Imedi TV that its journalists had been obstructed and physically abused while covering protests against the October elections, and that it had turned to the SIS to investigate the cases. The next day, the SIS opened an investigation under Article 154 of the Criminal Code, which deals with unlawful interference in the professional activities of journalists. The agency noted that the investigation involved “employees of several media outlets,” but did not specify which ones.

Managadze, who was summoned on November 21, denies interfering with the journalists’ activities. He says his interaction was limited to asking the pro-government Imedi TV crew whether they condemned police violence against opposition-leaning Mtavari TV cameraman Sergi Baramidze, who was violently detained during the protests. He also said he asked the Imedi journalists whether they had covered the footage of their colleague from opposition-leaning media being dragged away by police.

The SIS says the investigation concerns cases of obstruction of journalists’ work during protests on November 18 and 19 on Chavchavadze and Melikishvili Avenues. At dawn on November 19, peaceful protesters near Tbilisi State University were forcibly dispersed by police and moved to Melikishvili Avenue. Throughout the day, there were reports of police brutality and violence against members of the media. Mtavari TV’s Baramidze was assaulted by the police, beaten, and detained while other journalists from opposition-leaning and independent outlets Publika, and OC Media were obstructed and attacked respectively, while covering the protest.

Despite these incidents, there has been no report so far that SIS has opened an investigation into these particular cases of police brutality against the media representatives. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urged the Ministry of Internal Affairs to take immediate steps to protect journalists.

Meanwhile, the investigation into alleged interference with pro-government Imedi TV has drawn scrutiny. Footage and reports suggest that protesters verbally engaged with Imedi crews over their defamatory coverage of the protests as those of “radicals,” but did not physically obstruct their work.

“And the tragicomic is the fact that the case was not opened against those “policemen” who (to put it mildly) in fact obstructed the work of media representatives with brutal methods, physically assaulted them, broke their camera and arrested them, but I was designated as someone who obstructed the journalist’s activities because I asked their “colleagues” on air about this incident ,” Managadze wrote on social media.

Niko Managadze, a young activist, represents the Student Movement For Freedom. In June, during protests against the Foreign Agents Law, he was physically assaulted by several alleged government-paid thugs near Tbilisi State University.

Also Read:

• 20/11/2024 – TSU Allegedly Allowed Police to Use its Grounds for Crackdown, Sparking Outrage
• 19/11/2024 – Photo Story | Police Use Force to Disperse 48-Hour Protest Near TSU

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