Five Journalists Assaulted in One Day

Adalat Sadarov hit oberver with chear

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

The CEC accredited journalists together with the independent observers and the represeintatives of the oppositional parties were beaten on May 21, 2008 Election Day in Kakheti.

Eliso Chapidze, the Rezonansi (newspaper) editor on duty was assaulted by Nodar Kapanadze and Otar Lamazoshvili, unauthorized people that were found in the polling room of Kvemo Magharo Precinct # 26, Signagi # 13 District. The assaulters twisted hands behind the victim’s back, took away a camera and assaulted her. Konstantine Stalinski, a correspondent of the web portal www. presa.ge and Malkhaz Varshanidze and Irakli Goguadze, camerapersons were also beaten in the polling stations of the village Iormughanlo, Sagarejo election district. The Human Rights Center journalist was assaulted in Lagodekhi district. A chairperson of a precinct in Lagodekhi district threw a chair at the journalist, and then armed persons proceeded to oust him from the polling station, and even threatened him with a weapon.

Special Forces in Polling Station

As one election monitor recalls, “I was observing the parliamentary election in Signagi district. I started the process of observation at 7 a.m. in the village of Tibaani. After having observed the process of opening the precinct I went to the village of Jugaani.  On entering the polling station in Jugaani village the United Opposition proxy told me that the secrecy of voting was being infringed in the precinct. The voters were circling number 5 (the election number of the United National Movement) in ballot papers right at the voting table, showing them to the commission members and only afterwards inserting the ballots into the voting boxes. I personally saw what was going-on. When I asked one woman why all these voters were not voting in the election booth, she showed me two ballot papers and advised me mind my own business. She said she was not concealing that she was voting for the United National Movement. 

Later, the ruling party sent drunken young men to the polling station in Gurjaani. One of them dashed at me and said he had been wounded 17 in his life and it was not my business whether he entered the booth or not. When I asked Jugaani PEC chairperson why drunken people were permitted in site of the polling station, he said the commission did not have right to prevent drunken voters from being able to enter the polling station and vote publicly,” noted Eliso Chapidze.

Eliso Chapidze also noted that at about 13:30 p.m. Tea Khurtsilava, journalist of Sarke magazine had called her and informed that approximately 10 representatives of the Special Unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA) wearing no uniforms had entered into the Kvemo Magharo polling station for no known reason.

Eliso Chapidze: “I went to this polling station with a group who was filming the election process. When the camera operator was ousted from the polling station, I then myself entered the polling room with a camera; I proceeded to tell the PEC members that I was an accredited journalist, showing my ID. However, both PEC members and a police officer neglected my demand for representatives of Special Unit to go from the station. I started filming the unauthorized people but at the very moment I started shooting several athletic men who had come up to me, they twisted my hands behind my back, they took away the camera and assaulted me. I then started shouting and called for Mamuka Dekanoidze, police officer to come to my assistance but it was all in vain. Those responsible for the assault,  Kapanadze, Lamazoshvili and several other men who allegedly  were observers from The United Georgian Hall left the polling site and this was after a fight broke out; it had lasted for approximately one hour. The cars they drove belonged to the MIA’s Special Operative Department.

I found out later that it was Giorgi Babakishvili, the Signagi Municipality-Sakrebulo member from the United National Movement who brought Kapanadze and Lamazoshvili to the Kvemo Magharo polling station at 7 o’clock in the morning. Babakishvili was guiding the election process on the same polling station. I tried to protest against this violation as well as other ones but I was unable to get their proper attention. They were shouting and using foul language with me.

Forced Infringement of Secrecy of Voting

A young man was standing at the entrance of the polling station and writing in a yellow notebook the names of the voters who had come to vote. On having entered the polling station the voters were going to the registration table, receiving their ballots, circling their chosen candidate in the booth, and coming out with unfolded open-faced ballot papers. The voters then held the ballot papers so that the woman who was handing over the envelopes could see whom they had actually voted. Representatives of the NGO “New Generation New Initiative” were writing down who voted for the United National Movement and only after this the voter actually cast their vote.

The names of the voters who had folded the ballot paper were also written down. Several voters folded the paper in four which really made Dali Davitashvili, the PEC chairlady mad. It is interesting to note that Gia Davitashvili, Dali Davitashvili’s son was sentenced to a term of seven years in prison. A reliable source informed us that Dali Davitashvili was promised if the United National Movement (UNM) and Nugzar Abulashvili , UNM single mandate MP candidate in Gurjaani won, then her son would be released early from prison,” stated Eliso Chapidze. 

"Burnt Ballot Papers", photo of the newspaper "Kakhetis Khma"

The case was launched over Eliso Chapidze’s assault in the Signagi District Department of MIA on the same day. In spite of the event, it was only when the incident was publicized by the Georgian Public Broadcasting police started investigation. “The police officers Sukhiashvili and Deghmelashvili, told me that they would arrest me, and take pleasure by doing so if I exaggerated some of the facts. Giorgi Khachiashvili, the investigator could not understand how I was beaten when I did not have bruises on my skin. I informed the investigator that the young men that attacked me on May 21, 2008 had obstructed me from being able to do my work; they were driving around the village of Magharo in white Jeep Nisan with Constitutional Security Department (CSD) plate numbers. However, officially the investigation has not found out who the persons who assaulted me were,” told the victim.

Dispersal and Beating in Sagarejo

Several other journalists were beaten on May 21 in Kakheti as well. Konstantine Stalinski was beaten in the Kvemo Lambalo Precinct # 37, Sagarejo District when he filmed an incident in the polling station.

“Koba Kupatadze, an observer tried to stop ballot box stuffing and in collaboration the PEC chairperson and union “Racio-Legi” observer worked together and the beat him ruthlessly. Konstantine Stalinski was filming how the observer was beaten. One of the drunken men noticed him and dashed in his direction.  The men raiding the polling station and stuffing ballot papers in the ballot box took a camera away from Stalinski. Azeri observers and the PEC deputy chairperson helped them. The journalist tried to resist and consequently, he was assaulted,” stated Marina Tsiklauri, an observer from the Human Rights Center.

Konstantine Stalinski told how the most difficult situation was found in the Lambalo Precinct. Two precincts were at opposite ends of the same hall in the same school building and they were separated from each other with three desks. This border between polling stations was destroyed when the voting started and the voters of one precinct were going to the second one to vote again, and after having stuffed several ballot papers in one precinct, they were doing the same in another one. More then 10 voters were entering the precinct at the same time; they were helping each other to sign the number “Besh” which means 5 in Azeri.

Konstantine Stalisnki: “It was unclear where voters had found so many ballot papers, as they held in their hands. When observers remarked they could not push several ballot papers, people responded to them with aggression. I was filming the situation and I too became a victim of of violence.

“Inge-Mai Longist, an observer from the OSCE, made a very strange remark to me a bit later. After having witnessed all the violations going on the polling station she suggested me: “I advise you not to film anything because the camera irritates the locals.”

“Soon my companion warned me to leave the Iormughanlo immediately because operators in a neighboring polling stations were being assaulted. Roman Temnikov, an Azerbaijan journalist called me and said that local criminals knew my name and itinerary and I was facing danger.

I received the same information from other source too. “Azerbaijan locals were provided with wine and under the influence they intended to attack polling stations. Serious things might occur in the evening and anybody was subject to being a victim. Those filming what was going on were especially at risk.”

“I will remember this village because of those two cameramen who were beaten here within the span of one hour. Cameras were seized both of them. One of them, film-director Malkhaz Varshanidze was left without cassettes, mobile phones and personal items; even clothes were grabbed and taken away from him.”

Another victim of in a polling station was Irakli Goguadze. He had rescued the recordings of the violations observed in the second part of the day.”

Khatuna Iosava, the head of the PR Department of the Georgian Prosecutor General’s Office, reported that Sagarejo District Police Department had launched criminal investigations over the assault of Konstantine Stalinski journalist and a camera operators, Varshanidze and Goguadze under the Article 178, paragraph III of the Criminal Code (robbery under the threat of violence that is not threat life to one’s health). The crime envisages a term of imprisonment that can range from five to eight years behind bars.

P. S. the Human Rights Center had a press-conference over the violations. Journalist for one of the TV Companies wondered why beaten journalists were not placed in hospital. Evidently, people should be doomed to life threatening health or near death in order to attract the public interest. Only in this situation more or less protected media sources would have considered that human rights had been breached under such conditions.