A Criminal Case Initiated on Threats against Journalists

Kakheti District Prosecutor’s Office initiated a criminal case and started investigation on the allegation of threatening Ilia Martkoplishvili and Tamila Gurashvili, correspondents of the on-line newspaper Kiziki.

Kakheti Office of the Human Rights Center applied to the Prosecutor’s Office to start the investigation. According to the Human Rights Center, various media outlets released the materials where the journalists allege about the facts of harassment against them. Harassment against journalists is a criminal offence.

For your information, Ilia Martkoplishvili, the journalist accuses Soso Benashvili, an officer of the Kakheti Regional Division of Constitutional Security Department of the MIA, of intimidating Tamila Gurashvili, the journalist of the on-line newspaper Kiziki. According to Martkoplishvili, Soso Benashvili , the Constitutional Security Department officer  threatened Tamila Gurashvili in her everal times by saying that if they (the on-line newspaper journalists) did not stop criticizing the Dedoplistskaro District Governor’s Office it would cause problems for her minor child. Martkoplishvili also claims that Levan Jamalashvili, the head of the Social Department of the Dedoplistkaro District Governor’s Office, and Soso Benashvili threaten they would rape him (Martkoplishvili).

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Source: Kakheti News Center