The Human Rights Centre is concerned with the fact that leading journalists Misha Vardzelashvili, Shorena Tskhovrebashvili, Maka Chikhladze, Nino Shurghaia, Nino Kalandia, Sopo Kvintradze and others were dismissed from the News Program Department of the First Channel (the Public Broadcasting)
Levan Kubaneishvili, the General Director of the First Channel, stated that the abovementioned journalists left First Channel on the basis of their expired employment contracts. The Human Rights Centre was reported that the journalists were dismissed with the violation of several articles of the Labor Code of Georgia. In particular, most of them have not received notifications on their dismissal yet.
The Human Rights Centre was informed that the journalists in the News Program Department of the First Channel work in unbearable conditions. Khatuna Berdzenishvili, the new head of the department calls journalists stupid people, abuses them and sometimes even tries to beat them.
The Human Rights Centre condemns the facts of violation of the labor rights of journalists and coercion and calls upon the Board of Trustees of the Public.