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Journalists of Lanchkhuti Based Newspaper Blame Georgian Dream’s Members in Verbal Insulting

January 31, 2014
 
Nino Mshvidobadze, Lanchkhuti

Journalist of the local independent newspaper “Yes and No” Mamuka Kantaria said that two days ago, at about 19:00 pm, members of the Georgian Dream’s local office and employees of non-profit legal entity Lanchkhuti Guria (football club) Edisher Zhordania, Gialo Chkhaidze, Temur Aleksaia and director of Ltd Lanchkhuti 2000 Nugzar Tsintsadze broke into the newspaper’s office and verbally insulted the journalist. Kantaria said the abusers were irritated because of the article, they had published in the newspaper Yes and No.

“An hour before a stranger called me on the phone and asked where I was. I said I was in the office. Representatives of the FC Guria – Edisher Zhordania, Gialo Chkhaidze, Temur Aleksaia and director of Lanchkhuti 2000 Nugzar Tsintsadze came to our office by car. Drunken Edisher Zhordania offered me to sit in their car. I refused and asked about the reason of their coming. Then he got out of the car and started complaining about my articles about the managers of the football club; I do not know what he really meant. Supposedly, he was discontent about my article, where I published complaints of the football players. Then our conversation turned into verbal insulting. His companions requested Edisher Zhordania to stop insulting,” Mamuka Kantaria, journalist of the newspaper Yes and No, told humanrights.ge

Kantaria clarified that after the argument turned into a quarrel, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Nona Gigineishvili called police. Soon after police officers arrived at their office, Guria regional governor Giorgi Chkhaidze and his deputy, chairman of municipal board Amiran Gigineishvili, his deputy Zviad Apkhazava, district governor Zaza Urushadze, deputy governor Vakhtang Zenaishvili and head of district police department also came to the editorial office.

Regional governor Giorgi Chkhaidze condemned the fact and said everybody shall be punished for the insult of a journalist. “This fact should be condemned. Nobody has right to rebuke journalist for an article, not to say anything about insulting. Everything shall be done in accordance to the law. The worst thing in this incident is that those people receive salaries from the budget that imposes more responsibility on them. So, everybody shall be punished in accordance to the law.”

Interim district governor Zaza Urushadze said every perpetrator shall be punished. “It was very unpleasant fact. Every person is responsible for his/her action before the law regardless his position and status.”

Deputy governor Vakhtang Zenaishvili also condemned harassment fact against independent media. He told Human Rights Center that freedom of expression shall be guaranteed in the country. “I believe similar fact shall be combated immediately. I am strong on my position that freedom of expression shall be guaranteed regardless other people’s opinions. It is civilization, culture and norm.”

Amiran Gigineishvili also condemned the fact and noted that he requested the head of the organization to respond to the fact. “Today I sent official letter to the head of the organization to impose disciplinary punishment on concrete employees in accordance to the law.”

Human Rights Center contacted second party of the conflict. Nugzar Tsintsadze denied the incident. “We asked Mamuka Kantaria to stop writing negative articles about FC Lanchkhuti Guria several times but he did not listen to us. Edisher Zhordania told him to write at least one good article about the FC. We underwent many problems; Lanchkhuti district governor supported us to survive the football club and we did not really deserve similar articles. Zhordania did not insult Mamuka Kantaria,” Tsintsadze added they will not endure similar articles in future. “In the past we endured his accusations because of neighborhood, friendship, but now we will not do it. I will personally take the audit report to the prosecutor’s office (the report was prepared by Marina Tortladze, sister of the organization’s director Koba Mirzashvili). They will finally get damaged themselves. But since they are not going to stop, we will not stop either,” Nugzar Tsintsadze said.

According to the Human Rights Center’s information, Nugzar Tsintsadze quitted the position of the Ltd’s director. “Local office of the Georgian Dream officially apologized to the newspaper’s editorial office. “I publicly apologize for the incident; even if our team member had reason for discontent, he must not have insulted journalist. As for the incident, everything shall be resolved according to the law. I again express my position about the incident and say that it was unpleasant fact,” Gogi Gegiadze, chairman of the GD’s local office, said.   

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