Council of the Charter of Journalistic Ethics Decides Gela Mtivlishvili has not Violated Charter Principles

On February 26 the Council of the Charter of Journalistic Ethics did not satisfy Roman Kevkhishvili’s complaint and decided that Gela Mtivlishvili, Head of the Information Center of Kakheti (ick.ge) has not violated the principles of the Charter. The complaint was about the article of the ick.ge published on January 28 – “Dedoplistskaro Gamgebeli Spends Honeymoon in Dubai.”  Roman Kevkhishvili alleged that the ick.ge had breached the 10th paragraph of the Charter, which says that “journalists and media shall respect the right to privacy of the individual and not interfere into private life if the special public interest isn’t present.”

Roman Kevkhishvili claimed that the district governor’s honeymoon trip could have been interesting if it was funded by the State budget.

Neither the suitor, nor the requested party attended the Charter Council session.  Gela Mtivlishvili sent a response letter to the Council members clarifying that he was not editor of the website on January 28, when the article was published.  According to Mtivlishvili he is currently the Director of the Center – Imedi LLC, which implements the ick.ge project.  According to him, he does not interfere in the work of the news service any more.  Gela Mtivlishvili also sent a copy of his January 9 decree on appointing Manana Ashkarelashvili to the post of ick.ge editor.

Gela Mtivlishvili did not notify to the Charter Council about the shifted positions when the Council was discussing Kevkhishvili’s suit. Since three Council members had already accepted the complaint, the Board continued discussion of the suit and released final decision.

The Council Members concluded that the district governor’s honeymoon trip was a subject of public interest, as he is in charge of managing state funds and his wife is the head of the Civil Service Bureau, in the same district administration. 

Media.ge