Studio Monitor Film Documentary: Depravation of Private Property in Town of Sighnaghi

Studio Monitor produced documentary film on instances of property deprivation in the town of Sighnaghi. The TV-Company Kavkasia will broadcast this film within the next few days.

The film discusses how law enforcing bodies are taking private property in the period of 2007-2008. Manana Macharashvili, Tamar Tarashvili, Gela Bezhashvili and other people who were deprived off their property describe in full details all what happened with them. Officials and law enforcers confiscate by escorting  property owners to a notary public and under threat of force them to hand over their property. Some were forced to sell their property to the state and others to provide the property to the state free-of-charge, as a public good.  The property owners were threatened that they or their relatives would be arrested if they did not yield the demands of law enforcers. Some have also been physically abused.

A criminal case has been launched on depriving Macharashvili’s and Tarashvili’s property illegally in the Office of the Prosecutor General (Chief Prosecutor’s Office) for one year now. However, no one has been punished up to present time and the case drags-on.

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti