Media representatives beaten and injured by police at protest
During the violent dispersal of the protest on November 29, police forces injured several journalists and cameramen. Most of them required medical attention.
“According to eyewitnesses, police forces targeted those holding cameras or microphones with chemical irritants, attacked them, and physically abused them. According to the injured journalists, the chemical irritants used at the protest this time were much more potent. They assume that the water jets used by police to disperse the protest contained an unknown chemical substance that caused skin and eye burns, impaired vision, and made it difficult to breathe. The injured journalists also had difficulty speaking.
The Charter of Journalistic Ethics expresses its protest against the deliberate persecution of journalists and cameramen by the police forces during the dispersal of the rally, deliberate interference in their work, and deliberate damage and seizure of equipment.
We call on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to return to the framework of the law and immediately stop violence and arbitrariness,” – the Georgian Charter of Journalism.
Media representatives injured at the rally:
● According to “TV Pirveli”, pepper spray was sprayed in the face of the cameraman of this TV company Nika Kokaia and journalist Ana Mdivani, who suffered a spasmodic attack as a result. According to “Formula” TV company, police officers attacked and physically assaulted “TV Pirveli” cameraman Giorgi Shetsiruli. A water cannon was aimed at “TV Pirveli” journalist Nanuka Kajaia and her respondent. Cameraman Davit Bichikashvili, who worked with Nanuka Kajaia, was also injured.
● According to Media April, photographer Tbel Abuseridze was injured.
● According to “Mediachecker,” police officers physically assaulted “Project 64” founder Giorgi Gogua.
● “Formula” journalist Giorgi Kvizhinadze was injured with a chemical substance.
● Police officers physically assaulted “Formula” journalist Guram Rogava.
● OC Media co-founder and journalist Mariam Nikuradze was injured, knocked down by the water cannon.
● “Netgazeti” journalist Givi Avaliani was injured, pepper spray was sprayed in the face.
● Dea Mamiseishvili, a journalist for the “Main Channel”, was injured by a chemical substance.
● According to Radio Liberty, their journalist and cameraman were physically assaulted by a police officer.
● According to Media April, a German journalist was injured at the rally.
● “Publica” journalist Aleksandre Keshelashvili was arrested at the rally. During the arrest, the police brutally assaulted him.
● According to Radio Liberty, their journalist, Dato Tsagareli, was physically assaulted by riot police while going live on air.
● According to “Publica”, their journalist, Natia Amiranashvili, was prevented from doing her professional work.
● According to JAMnews, their photojournalist, Ukrainian Yulia Kalaban, was sprayed directly in the face, knocked down, and kicked while she was down.
Guram Rogava, a journalist who was attacked and physically assaulted by a riot police officer while covering a protest on Rustaveli Avenue live:
“Do you know what breaks my heart?! I think about my friends who now work at other TV stations. I think about the years we spent together, the values we had, what we opposed, what we fought for constantly…
How have these people adapted to this role today that they can’t see anything, they can’t notice anything.
I don’t care who the masked man is, I’m not angry at that masked man at all, honestly. He wasn’t a riot police officer. Do you know who beat me there today, who hit me?! Irakli Chikhladze, a journalist from Imedi, my childhood friend… I was beaten today and knocked unconscious by Channel One employees who had been my friends for years… I was beaten there by the leadership of Rustavi 2, journalists from Rustavi 2 beat me there today…
I did not do anything to the special forces. What is happening in these footage is precisely the merit of our colleagues, who are not just silent, but also do not speak the truth. Silence in this case is a crime” – journalist Guram Rogava.