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Gurjaani Municipality Bars Public Information

January 5, 2007

The chairman of the Municipality could be criminally charged

gela.gifBecause of a violation of the Georgian Common Administrative Code, Gurjaani District Municipality was sued in district court. The journalist who brought the suit is about to appeal the Gurjaani Prosecutor’s Office as well. He demands that a criminal case be initiated examining why he was hindered in his professional duties.

Despite a law stating that the meeting of the municipality must be open to the public, on December 8, 2006, Zurab Kheviashvili, chairman of the Gurjaani Municipality, ordered representatives of the media and NGOs to leave the meeting. Journalists refused to obey his order and demanded to know on what basis the chairman was closing the meeting. Kheviashvili refused to answer the journalists and said that the meeting would go on even if the journalists had to be forcibly removed from the hall.

“They were going to elect the district Gamgebeli, appoint the local commissions, and introduce some amendments to an ordinance and the city budget. Journalists learned about the agenda from the schedule that was posted on the notice board several minutes before the meeting began. There were a lot of people in the hall because the meeting had attracted great interest [after] the former temporary Gamgebeli of the Gurjaani district had resigned in favor of Ramaz Kerechashvili.”

“Finally, Kheviashvili ordered [the police] expel the journalists. They pushed people and forcibly made them leave the hall. They were shouting “throw them out – they deserve even worse treatment,” said journalist Gela Mtivlishvili.

Later, Roman Eliozashvili, the chief of the Gurjaani Municipality Office, explained the decision of Kheviashvili. “Under Georgian Organic Law on Local Self-Government, Article 25, Section 4, the December 8, 2006 meeting was closed according to the Municipality decree # 14.  The announcement about the closed meeting was posted on the notice board next to the schedule,” wrote Eliozashvili in his letter to the Human Rights Center’s Kakheti office.

Media and non-governmental organizations are seriously concerned about the constant barring of municipality meetings to journalists. Journalist Mtivlishvili subsequently appealed to the Gurjaani District Court.

“I demand in my first appeal to the court to order the municipality to issue the public information I have asked for. The information concerns the municipality office structure and payments to high-ranking officials. In my second appeal, I demand the repeal of municipality decree # 6 and the issuing of information to the public. Finally, I demand that decrees approved at the December 8 meeting not be executed until the court passes judgment on the suit.

I expect to have problems with the court despite evidence pointing to the municipality’s violation of the law. The reason is that district Gamgebeli was elected on that meeting and he is unlikely to leave his new position until a contrary verdict. However, we will continue to challenge the municipality in order to protect our rights,” said the journalist.

The journalist is going to appeal the district prosecutor’s office until the judge discusses his appeal. “Illegal behavior of the municipality and its chairman prevented me from carrying out my professional duties.  Kheviashvili used force against me both at the meeting and afterwards... I think Kheviashvili should be charged for my assault and be punished under the law,” said Mtivlishvili.

Gurjaani district court has already started to discuss one of the journalist’s appeals. Nino Kachalashvili, assistant to Judge Shalva Mchedlishvili, said that the court will discuss the case fully in the next few days. The suitor is about to bring the second suit to the court on Monday. If suits are satisfied by the court, Gurjaani municipality might be left without a gamgebeli. As for the chairman of the municipality, he would have to apology to the journalist as well as release information about what took place at the meeting.

Gurjaani, Kakheti 

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