Georgian Democratic Initiative (GDI) would like to respond to the recent developments surrounding Tatia Samkharadze’s case. GDI condemns cases of sexual harassment of women committed by Shalva Ramishvili and the inappropriate and inadequate response of government officials.
On March 20, 2023, Tatia Samkharadze published a post on her Facebook profile. According to the post, Shalva Ramishvili 'deceived young women by offering them a job on television, locked office doors, and tried to satisfy his dirty fantasies.' The post was shared by journalist Mako Jabua, who also accused Ramishvili of similar actions. As a result, several other women claimed to have experienced unwanted sexual behavior and harassment by Ramishvili (during job interviews). In response to the allegations, Mamuka Mdinaradze, a member of the parliamentary majority, stated that he did not believe the whistleblower, saying, ‘When someone remembers something after 7 years, I think, and this is my opinion, that it is most likely part of a fascist campaign.
It is worth mentioning that back in 2016, Tatia Samkharadze filed a lawsuit against Shalva Ramishvili for sexual harassment, and won the case in both instances of the court. Ramishvili did not appeal the decision in the Supreme Court.
Against this background, on March 24, 2023, TV company POSTV reported that a member of the "National Movement '' Dimitri Chikovani might have kidnapped Tatia Samkharadze. It should be noted that Shalva Ramishvili is the founder and general producer of TV company POSTV. POSTV journalist Natia Beridze informed the police about Tatia Samkharadze's abduction. Investigative actions taken by the police followed the report. Both Chikovani and Samkharadze denied the information spread by the TV company about Tatia Samkharadze's kidnapping.
It is our strong position that inventing and disseminating information about the kidnapping of Tatia Samkharadze is an attempt to cover up Ramishvili's actions and discredit Samkharadze and other alleged victims. In addition, the notification of the mentioned information to the police contains signs of an alleged crime, particularly, false denunciation.
Pursuant to Georgian legislation, sexual harassment is an administrative offense and requires the relevant bodies to respond effectively.[i]
We believe that the comments made by government officials only serve to perpetuate societal stereotypes, insinuating that the accounts of female victims are less credible due to the passage of time since the incidents occurred. The stance of government representatives reinforces harmful attitudes towards women, obstructs the detection of lawbreakers, and promotes a culture of impunity for their actions, thus perpetuating violence and harassment. Moreover, given the pro-government bias of POSTV, the comments made by Georgian Dream representatives appear to be an effort to protect POSTV and Shalva Ramishvili by discrediting the individuals who have spoken out against his alleged sexual harassment.
GDI calls upon law enforcement agencies to investigate promptly and respond to any possible administrative or criminal law violations.
