MP Nanetashvili Blackmails Several Undesirable Journalists Using His Own TV Company

MP Nanetashvili Blackmails Several Undesirable Journalists Using His Own TV   Company

The incompatibility of MP Badri Nanetashvili’s duties of is under discussion by the working group of the Parliamentary Procedure Committee. Badri Nanetashvili, accused of participating in business activities, is threatened with dismissal from Parliament. 11 former employees from the Gori local TV Company ‘Trialeti’ oppose him. They allege that MP Nanetashvili violated the rights of Journalists.

Saba Tsitsikashvili, the representative of the Human Rights Information and Documentation Center (HRIDC) in Shida Kartli, has signed up to the list of former employees of ‘Trialeti’. Tsitsikashvili was the editor of the ‘Trialeti’ newspaper in 2004 - 2005.

Saba Tsitsikashvili: “MP Nanetashvili was interfering in my professional activities. I was dismissed from my position as editor, reappointed, and then dismissed again. First he discharged me in July 2004 when I wrote an article entitled ‘The Business of Cigarette Smuggling Moves to Tkviavi’ without letting him know about it. However, I was not the editor when the second newspaper was published.

A few months later, in November 2004, I was told by Badri Nanetashvili that Irakli Okruashvili and Mikheil Kareli intended to remove him from the TV Company and he called on me not to give up but to fight. Afterwards I was reappointed to my previous position. It was apparent that he was sending a challenge to Okruashvili and Kareli. He gave me freedom to ‘attack’ them without mercy. Mikheil Saakashvili became involved in the clash and they were reconciled.

After this, Nanetashvili informed me that I was no longer the editor of the newspaper and that he was dismissing me again. I was interested to know why and asked him to let me know the reason he was discharging me. He told me, he was ordered by Okruashvili and Kareli to fire me from my job. Because of my firm resistance during the following period he was not giving me a salary - he was trying to induce me to leave the job willingly and as a result I had to leave in the summer of 2005”.

Nanetashvili discharged other employees as well who supported Tstitsikashvili. At the same time he also fired journalists who did not share his policies. After being left without their jobs, in September 2005, the former employees went with a joint appeal to the Financial and Regional Police of the Shida Kartli District. They emphasized Nanetashvili’s violation of their rights, but their efforts were in vain. Between September 2005 and March 2006 no governmental bodies reacted to the appeal of the journalists.

Nowadays, the journalists in Gori are in conflict with each other. According to Badri Nanetashvili, the former journalists from ‘Trialeti’ are executing the orders of those who want to destroy ‘Trialeti’. The same information was given by the Head of the Information Service Center of ‘Trialeti’, Sopio Rezrichenko.
Almost every day the news programs inform their audiences about the former journalists being bribed and carrying out other peoples’ orders. Saba Tsistikashvili states that MP Nanetashvili is discrediting ‘undesirable’ journalists using his TV Company.