Disrespectful Treatment in Ozurgeti and Kakheti: Violation of Rights and Psychological Pressure

2. Facts of Disrespectful Treatment-Ozurgeti • The source – the Guria News: “You are ill-bred and a liar”, Aleko Mameshvili, the chairman of the Ozurgeti Municipality Sakrebulo (the representative body of the local government), told Giorgi Girkvelidze, a correspondent of the Guria News, after the latter demanded that they let him see an administrative act based on which journalists were banned from moving around the administrative building.

3. Facts of Disrespectful Treatment-Ozurgeti • The Guria News: Lawyers said: “Security officers demanded that they take off their clothes and shoes. Gia Kartsivadze said they wanted him to take off his trousers, however, he refused.” • The Guria News: “They made me take off my shoes and socks“,said one of the persons that was questioned.

4. Facts of Disrespectful Treatment - Kakheti • The Kakheti News Center: “Before the interrogation, the police searched me. They started searching me from the corridor. They took away my bag and telephone. They made me take off the jacket either. They even searched me inside the clothes. That girl touched me by her hands, excuse my language but she even checked metal wires of my bra. The red light flashed and she asked what I had there. Do not you see that’s metal? What should I have their?” said Asmat Atuashvili, a member of the National Forum. • The Kakheti News Center: Mubariz Mamedov –”What do you have in your pockets?” they asked. I said that I had money. They told me to take it out trying to come closer. “Do not come close , keep a distance”, I said. They searched me, made me take off my jumper.  I had just my undershirt on. It took them three hours to interrogate me”.

5. Facts of Disrespectful Treatment - Kakheti • TS Press: “They made me take off my shoes and clothes, they threatened me for a couple of times:“Do you know where you are? Act properly, do you think you are in café or something?, sit like this, sit like that”… People were directly offended, they did not accept their explanations.....”Do you know where you are?, You will be imposed a 100 000-GEL penalty”,Nino Toloraia, the Republican Party. • TS Press: “They used moral terror, a person from Tbilisi entered the room from time to time and gave me remarks for anything I did, I could not laugh, I had to sit properly… the fact of conducting a search was horrible....They made me take off my shoes either, we were completely “naked”, they did not allow us to take a pen inside, they did not allow me to take out a copy of the explanation document,”said Maia Gurtskaia of the Republican Party.

6. Psychological Pressure - Intimidation • The process of the questioning of Lili Ebralidze, a representative of the Republican Party, lasted for 6 hours. • Ozurgeti- Yuri Tsikaridze, the source: The Guria News – “It was not an interview but rather an interrogation. They asked questions about the financial income of my family members. Who transfers to whom, from which bank and what amount. When they failed to get the information, they told me: “Open the window and jump out if you’d like to. As we know you live in Tbilisi, come there and you will see what will happen.” • The Kakheti News Center: Mubariz Mamedov - ”He told me to sign it, he was holding some paper. I refused. He threatened to send me to prison:“When you go to prison, you will be killed and your children will be orphaned”. Then a young man came (the other employee of the Chamber of Control) and told me that when a new president comes, he may say to oust “Tatars” and demand that they go from Georgia to Azerbaijan. I got angry: “Don’t talk nonsense, man. I am not a “Tatar”, I am a citizen of Georgia.”

7. Psychological Pressure - Intimidation • The Kakheti News Center: Asmat Atuashvili, Georgian Dream (Qartuli Otsneba): “Your child will be left without mother unless you give up this work”. I have 2 children. The elder one is with Father Spiridon, the little one is a person with limited abilities. I took out pictures from the bag, put a newspaper in front of him:“do you see, what grave conditions we are in?”. “Have not you applied to your MP or Gamgebeli?”“Yes, I have, but they have mocked me”. I do not know how dare they, they do not have a right to search a person either. “We will not let you alone”, they told me.

8. Violation of Journalists’ Rights • Chokhatauri: journalists are allowed to enter only the lobbyof the administrative building of Gemgeoba (the local government). In response to the Tspress.ge question why journalists are not let in, the Security Service says that this is not within their competence and they do not know at all whether the Chamber of Control is in the building or not. The Security Service directs us to the Pass Control Office. The Pass Control Office finds out after a telephone call that it is banned to issue passes for the fourth flour. members of the Georgian Dream (Qartuli Otsneba) coalition are being questioned by the Chamber of Control members on this very floor. • Ozurgeti: The Guria News, Nato Gogelia, a journalist: “Journalists and lawyers came at 11 o’clock together with those people who were summoned by the Chamber of Control to the Gamgeoba (the local government) building for questioning. Neither journalists nor lawyers were allowed to enter the building. Only one lawyer of the Young Lawyers’ Association was let in, and only for an interview. Now all of us are waiting outside, they are to make a decision whether to allow us to enter the building, however we do not know who is to make this decision... As for banning journalists from entering the administrative building, nobody has told us the reason... Sakrebulo’s meeting is to be held today but they have not allowed even an MP to enter the building. Lela Imedashvili, the Gamgebeli, says that she does not know what’s going on. After that we called the patrol police, but they did not come. Then we called Zurab Gvenetadze in the press office of the Interior Ministry. He told us that he would find out what was happening. “

9. Abuse of Power • Comments made by the people questioned by the Chamber of Control – TS Press, from 3.30 second.

10. Questions not relating to financing • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veFQHvAdNZs&context=C4768ee4ADvjVQa1PpcFMkc-GcW0YupeUwTcQ3Q7kX7TeQUaCz67U

11. Citizens are not informed about their right to a lawyer • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0I3gs6iMWUfrom 05.00 second • Lili Ebralidze - the Republican Party • The process of interrogation lasted for 6 hours • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZofHGQWrXcfrom 04.00 second