Dusheti municipality government exercises pressure against the employees of Mtskheta-Mtianeti Information Center. Mtskheta-Mtianeti Information Center addresses NGOs and media organizations, Office of Public Defender and relevant bodies to carefully examine each fact of pressure against journalists and take the relevant measures.
Mtskheta-Mtianeti Information Center was founded by the support of Open Society Georgia Foundation the goal of which was preparing journalistic material according to professional standards and publishing them in internet publication. Before the web-site was launched, Information Center published the news and articles on the Facebook page. The organization rented Office in Dusheti and started working since month of June. During this time, the Center prepared material on lives of people in the region. Based on Mtskheta-Mtianeti Center material information was disseminated in national TV, newspapers and information agencies.
Mtskheta-Mtianeti Information Center has several employees, including the journalist and a driver selected through the contest. They both live in Dusheti. Both of them were threatened by the name of Dusheti Municipality Local Government that if they continued working for Mtskheta-Mtianeti Information Center, their family members would have serious problems. The driver refused to continue work on the second day after signing agreement. In several days, the journalist refused to continue work as well. According to her explanation, in the name of leaders of region she was warned to stop working for the Center or else her mother employed in the private enterprise would have problems.
Mtskheta-Mtianeti Information Center is the only independent media organization in the region.
Mtskheta-Mtianeti Information Center