Clergymen confront suspect of Cartographer’s case, Mtavari Arkhi TV crew in David Gareji
By Khatia Bzhalava
Thursday, May 6
On Tuesday, David Gareji monastery clergymen confronted opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi TV crew and Iveri Melashvili, the main suspect in the so-called Cartographer’s Case. According to Mtavari Arkhi, they were filming a video report when the drunk clergy attacked them and physically assaulted their journalist, videographer and Melashvili. According to journalists, their equipment was also damaged.
Melashvili, a former state expert accuses the Georgian Dream government of purposefully misleading people to believe that he is a traitor who handed over and sold Georgian lands to Azerbaijan. Melashvili believes the incident was orchestrated.
The Public Defender’s Office condemned any type of attack on media representatives, noting that this is not the first case of physical assault on a critical media crew this year.
“We call on the investigative bodies to investigate the attacks on journalists in a timely and effective manner, as well as to identify and hold all relevant persons responsible for the past criminal incidents against journalists and representatives of TV companies, to prevent the creation of an environment of impunity,” Public Defender’s office said.
The Coalition for Media Advocacy and the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics both stressed the incident involved illegal interference in journalistic activities.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Internal Affairs launched an investigation into the incident under Article 126, into the fact of violence.
Iveri Melashvili, along with Natalia Ilychova, was detained in October 2020 on charges under Article 308 (1) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, involving “actions directed at the violation of the territorial integrity of the country.” They were accused of withholding materials from a border agreement with Azerbaijan that, as the Chief Prosecutor’s Office noted, resulted in the forfeit of about 3,500 hectares of lands against Georgia’s interests. The cartographers were released on bail in January 2021, claiming their detention was part of the political agenda of the ruling party, Melashvili and Ilichova have appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
