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Radio Imedi Regional Correspondent Marginalized Before Expiration of Contract

July 25, 2008

The administration of Radio Imedi dismissed Nana Pazhava, Radio Imedi correspondent in Samegrelo Region and journalist of the online magazine www.humanrights.ge.  Pazhava considers that she was illegally dismissed. She now calls upon her colleagues and responsible bodies to protect her rights. Nana Pazhava recalls all the events that preceded her dismissal in a letter format and The Human Rights Center provides this letter to you:

“On July 23rd Lela Gabechava, the producer of Radio Imedi called me 2 hours before the President’s visit to Ganmukhuri and told me that Lasha Gabechava, another journalist of Radio Imedi in Samegrelo Region would announce on the president’s visit in live air and that I had to hand my microphone over to him. I asked the producer that she talked to Nino Gabriadze, the head of news department of Radio Imedi. Soon thereafter the head of the news department called me in several minutes and told me that she was the decision maker as long as she held her position. I reminded her that my contract time expired only at the end of July and she did not have right to marginalize me from my work in the meantime. Nonetheless, it turned out that the employment contract did not mean anything to Gabriadze. She told me at this time that it would be Lasha Berulava who would be announcing the visit on live air.

As for the contract, Lela Gabechava called me on July 14th, 2008 and said that I had to leave the Radio Imedi when my contract time expired. She said that the radio administration decided there would be only one journalist in Samgerelo region and this would be Lasha Berulava instead of me.
I don’t know Lela Gabechava and I never met her, as she did not wish to meet regional journalists personally. However, I know one thing for certain. I have been always devoted to my work for the 4 years that I worked for Radio Imedi.

I think it is very important that the inhabitants of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Region receive unbiased information about current events in Georgia. It is unacceptable for me to leave the company I had been devotedly working so many years. It is unacceptable that the journalists have their rights so often violated.

I know that Georgian intelligence illegally listens to my mobile phone conversations. Today they echoed my conversation with the representative of Imedi administration very fast and as soon as I hung the phone I received the text message from the telephone number from which I had been receiving the letters of threats and insults since the May 21st, 2008 Parliamentary Elections. The author of the letter was most delighted with my dismissal. I assume that a representative of the Constitutional Security Department of MIA calls me from 895 94 30 07.
Ilia Chachibaia, a journalist knows that this number belongs to a CSD representative. He wrote down this number when a person called and threatened him from the same number. I concluded that I was called by a law enforcer, and especially by a representative of the CSD.

I proceeded to call everyone who is tries to discredit me and infringe upon my rights and dignity: Please stop following me secretly, listening to my conversations and denouncing on me as all your attempts are in vain. You will not succeed like you had not succeeded in accusing me of being a biased journalist for so many years. I will protect my rights in court and with the help of human rights organizations who will defend me.”

The Human Rights Centre

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