Attack on Media

Yesterday, as a result of the incident near the Tbilisi Police Main Department journalists also were injured alongside the demonstrators. The victimized media-representatives claim that law enforcers targeted on journalists and hunted on them with particular severity in order to destroy the video and photo recordings of the dispersal. Later, when the Ministry of Internal Affairs returned the cameras all materials were deleted from them.

Yesterday, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Eka Zguladze apologized to journalists for being prevented from their professional activities; however the victimized media sources did not accept her apology. Yesterday, TV Companies “Maestro” and “Kavkasia” ceased broadcasting in protest and called upon their colleagues to join them.

Representatives of the printed media sources expressed their solidarity to the victimized TV Companies and spread appeal in support of them. According to our information the total list of journalists and photo-reporters abused near the Tbilisi Main Police Department is the following:

1. Giorgi Odzelashvili – camera-man of the online television Gevision TV; he was assaulted and then detained. Video-camera was seized from him.
2. Zurab Kurtsikidze – photo-reporter of the European Press Agency; he was assaulted and then detained; photo camera was seized from him.
3. Tornike Ziziashvili – photo-reporter for the online newspaper Interpressnews; he was assaulted.
4. Temur Kandashvili – camera-man of the TV Company “Kavkasia”; camera was seized from him and then it was broken.
5. Teona Laliashvili – Journalist for the TV Company “Maestro”; she was assaulted.
6. Ana Broladze – journalist for the TV Company “Maestro”; she was assaulted; recording of the dispersal was seized from her.
7. Sergi Baramidze – camera-man from the TV Company “Maestro”; he was assaulted; video-camera was seized from him and then it was broken.
8. Shota Kapanadze – camera-man from the TV Company “Maestro’; he was assaulted; video-camera was seized from him and then it was broken.
9. Ivane Shlamov – photo-reporter for the “France Press”. Photo-camera was seized from him.
10. Dato Mdzinarashvili – photo-reporter for the “Reuters”; photo-camera was seized from him.
11. Irma Inashvili – Head of Union of Journalists “Obiektivi”; she was assaulted; video-camera was seized from her and then it was broken.
12. Malkhaz Varshanidze – camera-man of the Union of Journalists “Obiektivi”; he was assaulted; video-camera was seized from him and then it was broken.
13. Irakli Kordzaia – journalist; he was assaulted.

Irma Inashvili reported that one more camera-man of the “Obiektivi’ was beaten but he prefers to keep his name anonymous. Video-camera was also seized from this person and then it was broken. Unlike the representatives of other media-sources camera was not returned to the Union of Journalists.