Mikheil Kareli Accused of Assaulting Journalist
Tbilisi.04.05.05.MediaNews. Saba Tsitsikashvili, a journalist for "Akhali Versia" (New Version) has accused Mikheil Kareli, representative of the president for the Shida Kartli region, of violent behavior.
At a press-conference held at the Liberty Institute, Tsitsikashvili said that on April 26 he was intending to enter the village of Uplistsikhe in order to take pictures of the population damaged by the flood, and to prepare an article for the newspaper. However, Mikheil Kareli did not give him a chance to do so.
According to Tsitsikashvili, Kareli dragged him out of his car and then verbally and physically abused him. He then told him, ironically, "Now you can do the article".
The journalist said that there were plenty of witnesses, and that the camera crews of two TV Companies, "Trialeti" and "Rustavi-2", were there, although he is not sure whether they filmed the incident. He claims that the Minister of the Environment also witnessed the confrontation. Tsitsikashvili intends to file a suit regarding the episode, demanding an investigation.