Akhalgori-based Georgian journalist goes on hunger strike
By Tsotne Pataraia
Friday, September 13
Journalist Tamar Mearakishvili, who lives in Russian-occupied Akhalgori district, has gone on a hunger strike. Mearakishvili writes that he will receive only water while using this form of protesting.
Akhalgori native Georgian journalist has long been persecuted by the de facto government of Tskhinvali for her civic activities. The situation has become more dramatic recently when she has found herself unable to leave the district for more than two years because of fake charges against her.
Following her post on Facebook, Mearakishvili decided to use the extreme form of protest for only one reason - to attract the attention of the co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions (series of talks on Georgian-Russian conflict issues started in 2008, is co-chaired by the UN, OSCE and the EU) with whom she wants to meet:
"I am going to go on a hunger strike today. I will only get water. I am forced to use this extreme form of protest - I would like to meet with the co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions. I have been completely abandoned by the authorities for three years already, "the activist wrote on Facebook.
As Mearakishvili states, her actions are not directed to only Tskhinvali separatist regime, but also Tbilisi: “My protest is not only about Tskhinvali, but also about Tbilisi. Journalists, please make sure that my protesters will have the right recipients,” reads her Facebook post.
Mearakishvili is charged on unlawfully obtaining “South Ossetian citizenship” using fake documentation, in parallel with possessing Georgian citizenship and of blackmailing the ruling party of occupied Tskhinvali. Akhalgori district court dropped the charges against Mearakishvili in July 2019. However, the prosecution appealed the verdict and the case is still in the court of the occupied Tskhinvali.
Mearakishvili have frequently been using platforms such as Facebook and “Ekho Kavkaza” (“Echo of the Caucasus” - Russian-language media outlet providing an uncensored alternative to Kremlin-controlled information in the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia) covering lots of problems in the district, including the actions of puppet leaders of Tskhinvali separatist regime.
In 2017, she was twice deprived of liberty. He had his IDs confiscated and was unable to move to a controlled area of Georgia and could not be treated despite the difficult health situation.
On June 8, 2017, she kidnapped from Akhalgori to Tskhinvali for questioning or intimidation. The so-called Akhalgori Prosecutor's Office has called a criminal case accusing her against defamation of the ruling party “United Ossetia”, basing charges on the journalist's critical views on the party members. The involvement of international parties has yielded results and Tamar Mearakishvili has returned home.
In September of 2018, the so-called Akhalgori court suspended the case. So-called The prosecutor's office has not appealed the ruling but has filed two new charges against Mearakishvili illegally obtaining and using the official document.
In May 2018 Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria nominated Mearakishvili for the United Nations Human Rights Prize and Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize for her "outstanding contribution to defending the rights of the conflict-affected population”. Lomjaria wrote that activist and blogger Mearakishvili has been reporting on the critical human rights situation in the occupied town of Akhalgori and the violation of the rights of local people by the de facto authorities, “at the risk of putting her own life, health and safety in danger.”
The Embassy of Netherlands to Georgia awarded Mearakishvili with the Human Rights Tulip award and a monetary prize back in December 2018.
