On July 3, the Georgian news agency “Mtis Ambebi” [Mountain Stories] reported that the Prosecutor’s office recognized its editor-in-chief, Gela Mtivlishvili, as an aggrieved party in the case of his arrest by the police, illegal interference in journalistic activities, and physical violence during the Kekelidze Street eviction standoff on January 23.
This decision comes five months after an incident where Mtivlishvili says he was illegally detained while covering the story and physically assaulted by the Police officers during detention. On January 25, the Court fined Mtivlishvili 2,000 GEL (approximately $750) for interfering with police activities and insulting the officers on duty, based solely on police officer testimonies. The Judge disallowed two video recordings that showed that, contrary to the testimonies, Mtivlishvili was not interacting with the officers at the time and was arrested without warning. The appeals court upheld the decision, and the defense lawyers are ready to submit the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Mtivlishvili’s lawyers appealed to the Special Investigation Service, which deals with abuse of office by law enforcement. SIS investigation uncovered another video footage from a nearby street camera that spoke to Mtivlishvili’s innocence. The witness’s testimony of physical abuse was also obtained.
Mtivlishvili demands that these four policemen be fired and tried for giving false testimony and says the arrest and violence were linked to his journalistic investigation of the Shovi landslide tragedy, which angered the government officials.
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