(IPI/IFEX) – In a 5 March 2001 letter to President Eduard Shevardnadze, IPI strongly condemned the assault on a Georgian journalist. According to IPI’s sources, Tamaz Tsertsvadze, editor of the Tbilisi weekly newspaper “Meridiani”, was attacked near his home by a group of unknown individuals late in the evening on 24 February. Tsertsvadze was severely […]
(IPI/IFEX) – In a 5 March 2001 letter to President Eduard Shevardnadze, IPI strongly condemned the assault on a Georgian journalist.
According to IPI’s sources, Tamaz Tsertsvadze, editor of the Tbilisi weekly newspaper
“Meridiani”, was attacked near his home by a group of unknown individuals late in the evening on 24 February. Tsertsvadze was severely beaten with steel bars and the attack left him unconscious. He was later taken to hospital in critical condition and diagnosed with a concussion, a broken nose and several broken ribs.
Tsertsvadze said that “Meridiani” received several threatening phone calls prior to the attack, warning the journalist and his colleagues that they should stop publishing articles critical of the authorities. Tsertsvadze believes the threats were carried out by people connected to the ruling party, the “Union of Citizens”.
This assault is only the most recent in a series of attacks on journalists who have provided critical coverage of the authorities. Akaki Gogichaishvili, an investigative TV journalist, was subjected to numerous threats in early 2000 after he documented allegations of corruption among high state officials (see IFEX alert of 15 June 2000). Moreover, on 24 July, Vassili Silagadze, a journalist with the private weekly “Eko Digest”, was beaten by undercover police officers after he refused to reveal sources he had used for an article exposing corrupt senior police officials. After he reported the incident, an anonymous caller telephoned Silagadze and threatened him (see IFEX alerts of 8 August and 27 July 2000).
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– stating that these attacks seem to be callous and deliberate attempts to prevent critical reporting and, as a result, are gross violations of everyone’s right to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”, as guaranteed by Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
– further noting that such attacks create an environment in which journalists practice self-censorship out of fear of being targeted
– noting that press freedom is essential in any democracy, and that this includes journalists’ right to freedom from the threat of being attacked in retribution for carrying out their profession
– urging His Excellency to do everything in his power to ensure the safety of journalists working in Georgia
– further urging him to ensure that there is a thorough investigation into these attacks, and that those guilty are swiftly brought to justice
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
H.E. Eduard Shevardnadze
President
Republic of Georgia
Tbilisi, Georgia
Fax: + 995 32 99 86 90
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
