
Critical Scientist Flees Georgia, Alleges Political Persecution
On January 26, the Director of the Institute of Earth Sciences and the National Seismic Monitoring Center of Ilia State University, Tea Godoladze, has fled Georgia to the United States. Godoladze has long been an outspoken critic of the GD government’s policies on environmental protection and urban development. She cited fear of imprisonment, which she described as political persecution, as a reason for leaving the country.
Previously, Godoladze harshly criticized the GD government and spoke against state environmental policies. In particular, she strongly opposed the Namakhvani hydropower project, warning that the construction of a massive dam posed a significant risk not only to residents of the Rioni Valley and nearby villages but also to Kutaisi, Georgia’s second-largest city. She also criticized the handling by the GD government of the landslides in Vashlijvari, as well as the Itkhvisi disaster, and the landslide on the strategic Rikoti roadway connecting eastern and western Georgia.
Godoladze was charged by the prosecutor’s office in July 2023, under Article 126 Prima of the Criminal Code, which pertains to violence against minor. The charges stemmed from an accusation made by her former partner and stepson, claiming that Godoladze had been violent toward the latter who is the minor. This complaint was filed two weeks before the August 3, 2023, Shovi landslide tragedy, an event Godoladze had publicly criticized the government over.
It’s noteworthy that the Institute that she led, published the critical findings on Shovi landslide. The Center’s analysis of seismic conditions and the situation on the glacier revealed that, had an early warning system been in place, the landslide could have been detected up to two hours in advance, allowing enough time for an alarm to be raised and for the area to be evacuated.
The government officials criticized Godaladze for her position. GD Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili criticized Tea Godoladze’s statements after the Shovi landslide and accused her of sabotage, saying, saying she was a person “who created 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”.
Interview with Mtis Ambebi
In an interview with Mtis Ambebi, recorded just hours before her departure, Godoladze elaborated on the key reasons behind her decision. She stated that substantive hearings in her case were scheduled after Judge Shorena Guntsadze of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals overturned the City Court’s verdict against Godoladze’s former partner. She said that marked the turning of the case against her as she was accused of violence against her minor stepson.
Godoladze recalled that her partner was caught red-handed when the police arrived and was charged, and yet both the first and second instances of the court “somehow concluded that while the act of physical violence against her was obvious, there wasn’t enough evidence. The authorities also conducted the investigation in a way that removed the “gender-based motive”, she said.
Her partner was found guilty by the City Court on 7 June 2024. But, she said: “The December 26 decision of the Court of Appeals was exactly the red line that the court and the Georgian state crossed,” adding that “it gave the green light to the second case in which I am accused, allowing the judge to easily pass a guilty verdict against me, even though there is no evidence in the case files,” she argued. “I am a victim, but the Georgian system presents me as a perpetrator,” she said.
Godoladze assessed that this was done to discredit her adding that “this isn’t the first instance—take, for example, the Shovi tragedy. Everything is connected, including my ties to the scientific team in the United States and the projects I was implementing with American assistance.”
Godoladze further stated that it was not a coincidence that charges against her were pressed by the Prosecutor’s office while she was hosting in her capacity as the Director of the Institute of Earth Sciences and the National Seismic Monitoring Center the Ukrainian and U.S. officials in July 2023, with the aim of developing seismic methods for identifying explosions in Ukraine.
She further explained that the American-funded projects were implemented in Georgia “focused on seismic hazard assessment, not only in Georgia but across the Caucasus and Central Asia”, in which she was “deeply involved”. Godoladze said that she was outspoken in her efforts to “address the chaos in the construction sector in Georgia, which, as you know, is an area where enormous money is being made.” “This is a typical mafia-like structure where vast amounts of money are being made in construction, energy systems, energy carriers, and so on,” she claimed.
Attempts to “Remove” her from the Center
Godoladze spoke about several attempts to remove her from her position. She said that the Ministry of Education had sent a request to the Rector of Ilia State University, urging to transfer the Seismic Monitoring Center from the university to under state control. She characterized this move as an “aggressive attack” against her, although she suggested that the government’s actions were restrained due to the “American motive.” “I am the head of the Seismic Monitoring Development Project for the Caucasus and Central Asia, which is being carried out with American support,” Godoladze explained in the interview.
2008 August’s war
Godoladze also emphasized the significance of the Seismic Monitoring Center in the aftermath of the 2008 Russian-Georgian war. She recalled that during Georgia’s legal dispute with Russia at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the Ministry of Justice presented data from the Seismic Monitoring Center as key evidence, detailing the timing and locations of explosions. “As a result, the case not only had strong evidence but was also concluded in Georgia’s favor,” she argued.
While recalling the details, she stated: “I remember sitting after the 2008 war, working with my American partners on the materials, which were indisputable evidence that Georgia did not start the war. Russia conducted the intervention, i.e., the war began on August 7 at 11:40 a.m. We have the exact times and locations of all the explosions, including the large cluster bomb explosions, and every episode of the bombing of Gori.”
Financial Problems of the Center
Godoladze also highlighted the financial challenges faced by the center after 2019. She explained that the Ministry of Education sent a representative to the center, who made “corrections” to public relations materials, instructing her on what to write and what to avoid. While she refrained from naming that individual, she vowed to reveal their identity in the near future.
According to her, despite an agreement between the Georgian government and the United States, which stipulated that the government would support the implementation of projects co-financed by the U.S., the center’s budget was significantly cut by the state after 2019. Godoladze emphasized that “if not for Americans, the center wouldn’t have been able to operate.”
“There is now a real threat that under this regime, I may not be able to return to the country. I’ve thought about staying and making a sacrifice, even going to prison, but I know that by sitting in prison, I won’t change much. I’ll continue the fight from the outside. I know much more and can do much more than they think,” Godoladze concluded in her interview with Mtis Ambebi.
This is not the first case of people recently fleeing the country for their fear of politically motivated reprisals by the authorities. Irakli Shaishmelashvili, the former head of the Operational Planning Department of the Interior Ministry’s Special Tasks Department, left the country in early December for fear of reprisals against him and his family. Before departure, he gave a revealing interview to TV Pirveli in which he made a series of highly consequential statements about the systemic problems in the ministry, the methods used to disperse the protests last month, particularly in the notorious MIA Special Tasks Department, and other issues. This follows the departure from Georgia of Nata Peradze, an activist and founder of the “Talgha” movement, left Georgia, citing fears of imprisonment. Peradze has been an outspoken critic of the authorities, including on infrastructure and urban policies. In addition, artist Andro Dadiani also left Georgia for Berlin. As he wrote on his Facebook, leaving the house felt like walking on the edge of a knife. He cited the dangers of being framed and expressed his fears stating, “Someone would plant something in my pocket, or that when I arrived home, they would knock on my door and find a Kalashnikov [rifle] or a kilogram of drugs in the jacuzzi…”
Also Read:
- 05/08/2024 – Institute of Earth Sciences: Early Warning System Could Have Averted Shovi Landslide Disaster
- 02/02/2024 – Civic Activist Nata Peradze Jailed for Defacing Stalin Icon
- 23/08/2023 – Critical Scientist Says Government Tries to Discredit Her
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)