Human rights defender Mr Vakhtang Komakhidze received death threats on 10 February 2010 and has recently been the subject of harassment as a result of his human rights activities. Vakhtang Komakhidz is an investigative journalist and a member of the South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders.

Further Information

It is believed that the threats and harassment are related to Vakhtang Komakhidze’s visit to de facto South Ossetia in December 2009 and his public announcement that he is working on a documentary concerning the Russia-Georgia war of August 2008.

Vakhtang Komakhidze highlighted the fact that the documentary would disclose many issues not yet known to the public. For instance, two days before the war started, on 6 August 2008, the State Minister of Georgia agreed with the de facto authorities of South Ossetia to evacuate the grandmother of Ms Alana Gagloeva, an employee of the President’s press service. However, at that time, the Government was leaving the Georgian population completely unprotected, in the hands of the Russian army.

On 10 February 2010, Vakhtang Komakhidze reported having received death threats against himself and his family from the authorities as a result of his work on the Russia-Georgia war documentary.

The day before, on 9 February 2010, the Georgian TV channel Real-TV had broadcast a report concerning Vakhtang Komakhidze’s private life and professional activities with the clear intention of discrediting him and undermining his reputation. The TV report contained inaccurate information, saying that in 2004 Vakhtang Komakhidze had to leave his job at the Ministry of Security after one year because of a financial scandal. In fact, Vakhtang Komakhidze left the Ministry three months after his appointment for personal reasons. The report also accused Vakhtang Komakhidze of polygamy and tried to portray him as a bad parent.

On 28 January 2010, as Vakhtang Komakhidze was waiting for a flight out of Georgia in order to film and interview representatives of the de facto government of South Ossetia, six to seven persons sat down next to him in the airport. One of them was the chief of the security department. The men spoke to Vakhtang Komakhidze in an aggressive manner and one of them told him that it was a good idea for him to leave the country.

In December 2009, Vakhtang Komakhidze, together with two other civil society representatives, met with South Ossetian non-governmental organisations, families affected by the war and Mr Kokoity, the de facto leader of South Ossetia. After the visit, Vakhtang Komakhidze publicly announced that he was working on a documentary about the Russia-Georgia war of 2008, for which he also gathered materials during his visit to South Ossetia.

On 17 December 2009, on the same day when Vakhtang Komakhidze returned to Tbilisi from South Ossetia, high ranking politicians harshly criticised him and his colleagues for this visit. Their criticism was made public in the news programmes broadcast by various media outlets.

Mr Shota Malashkia, one of the ruling party’s leaders, said: “this is a disease not only for Georgia; such persons always existed during the various occupation regimes and their actions there have already been responded to by the population after the de-occupation. The same will happen in the case of these people [referring to those who visited Tskhinvali on 16 December 2009] as well - for some of them it will be a response through [results] in elections and for others from a moral point of view.”

The media also referred to them as “traitors”. Several days later, a stranger stopped Vakhtang Komakhidze and told him that it would be better for him and his family not to bother the Georgian authorities. He added that the only way out for him and his family would be to leave the country and stop filming.

Front Line believes that Vakhtang Komakhidze is being targeted as a result of his human rights activities, in particular his efforts to film a documentary concerning the human rights abuses committed during the Georgia-Russia war in 2008. Front Line is deeply concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Vakhtang Komakhidze.