Ruling party MP Beselia says she faces ‘blackmail’ as footage of her personal life goes viral
Georgian Dream party member Eka Beselia connects the leak of footage of her personal life to her negative attitude to a list of judges nominated for seats on the country’s supreme court.
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Georgia Dream ruling party member Eka Beselia, who left the post of the head of the Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee at the end of December, says that she is facing a moral terror as footage of her personal life has gone viral.
She has called upon law enforcement agencies to immediately identify the people who stand behind the “dirty campaign”.
Beselia has connected the leak of the footage, which she says was recorded under the United National Movement leadership, to her critical attitude towards a list of ten judges presented for seats on the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Beselia stated on 26 December that she quit the post in the parliamentary committee as several judges on the list were unacceptable to her because of their past and “biased judiciary,” and added that Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze had lobbied for the judges, which was strongly dismissed by the latter.
In an open letter published on Facebook late yesterday, Beselia said that a number of individuals linked with United National Movement [former president Mikheil Saakashvili’s party] “criminal activities” had managed to get into the Georgian Dream party and now were trying to land ‘lifetime appointments to the judiciary’.
I would not have allowed this [to happen] and I opposed the process openly. I think that blackmail and the attempt to threaten me are part of the developments,” Beselia said.
Then Interior Ministry Irakli Garibashvili personally participated in the destruction process of 144 files (181 hour-long material) of personal life footages illegally recorded under the UNM government. Photo: Radio Liberty.
She stated that there were attempts to release footage of her personal life ahead of the 2012 parliamentary elections, when she joined the Georgian Dream team to defeat the nine-year rule of the United National Movement.
She says that eight people were detained under the Georgian Dream leadership for the offence.
Beselia said that she was against discussing the case in court as this “increased the likelihood of [further leaks]”. Instead, she wants the individuals behind the footage to sign a plea bargain.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs launched an investigation regarding the recent statements of Beselia immediately and MP David Tchitchinadze and his daughter-in-law have already been summoned for interrogation as they were the first to see the video on the internet, after Tchitchinadze’s daughter-in-law was sent the video on Facebook [the Georgian media outlets report].
Opposition MP Tchitchinaadze says that it is very likely the Georgian Dream party stands behind the process. The same was stated by the European Georgia opposition leader Gigi Ugulava.
The top figures of the Georgian Dream party have strongly condemned the “immoral act” and urged for immediate investigation.
I am personally interested in the investigation of the immoral action,” Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze said.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has stated that “manipulating with the personal data must end in Georgia.”
Zurabishvili said that a discussion must be launched immediately, with the involvement of public, on how to suspend the threat created by unidentified pages on the social network.
Sophio Kiladze, head of Parliament’s Human Rights Committee says that “if it is confirmed that such videos really went viral, I will demand the strongest punishment of those involved.”
Georgian Vice PM and the Minister of Regional Development Maia Tskitishvili called the incident “absolutely unacceptable” and urged the public not to encourage such illegalities by watching the video.
The Georgian Dream MP Roman Kakulia dismissed any connection of the ruling party with the video.
Personal Data Inspector Tamar Kaldani said that “everyone should know that the spread of personal footage is a criminal offence and [an end must be put to this]”.
The Georgian parliament approved a surveillance bill back in November 2014 to provide strong sanctions for illegal surveillance and leaking footage of an individual’s personal life.
Illegal surveillance and eavesdropping were widely used under the previous government. Hours of illegal footage obtained during the UNM administration was destroyed by the Georgian Dream government in 2013 and early in 2014.
Georgian Dream ruling party leaders say that the controversial list of ten judges for the Supreme Court of Georgia will not be discussed in an accelerated manner and discussions around the issue will take place in the spring.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze has denied any connection between the fact that the Legal Affairs Committee head Eka Beselia and its member Gedevan Popkhadze left the ruling party majority and the controversial process of appointing judges in the country.
The appointment of Gedevan Pophkadze as the deputy head of parliament’s legal affairs committee has stirred controversy in the Georgian Dream ruling party.
Head of Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee Eka Beselia has quit the post and stated at a briefing today that her decision was related to the “hasty and unacceptable” process of lifetime appointment of judges with a “controversial past” to the Supreme Court of Georgia.
The Georgian media reports that “most of the individuals” who have been detained today for the possession and release of private footage are activists of the United National Movement (UNM) and Girchi opposition parties.
One has been detained for uploading intimate private footage on YouTube after the statement of Georgian Dream ruling party MP Eka Beselia, who said on 28 January that footage of her personal life recorded under the United National Movement leadership had gone viral. The individual has acknowledged his guilt in the matter.
Zurab Solomonashvili who was sentenced to imprisonment is accused in uploading the footage on YouTube. Other seven person were accused in spreading the footage via social network and messaging apps.
The Georgian Interior Ministry is very likely to request help from foreign partners to investigate leak of a private life footage, featuring Georgian Dream MP Eka Beslia.
The Georgian Dream ruling party has asked the Council of Europe Venice Commission to get involved in the drafting of a bill which will set criteria for the selection and the appointment of Georgian judges.
Georgian MP Zviad Kvachantiradze has left the ruling Georgian Dream party and its faction in parliament.
The parliamentary minority of Georgia has dissolved as MPs have left the European Georgia political party.
Former member of the Georgian Dream ruling party Eka Beselia, who is now opposing her former colleagues regarding court-related issues, says that current member of the ruling party Mamuka Mdinaradze mistakenly sent her a message which included swearwords about her.
One person has been detained for uploading the private footage of a Georgian politician on YouTube late yesterday, Deputy Interior Minister Natia Mezvrishvili said. She stated that the individual had no private motivation to upload the video, and, consequently, the crime had no client.
Four individuals detained back in February 2019 for the possession and distribution of the personal footage of MP Eka Beselia, have been released on bail after the request of the Prosecutor’s Office to the court.
Through cooperation with Facebook administration the MIA has found out that the accused had been registered on Facebook under the user name Buba Lomtatidze and has released personal footage for several times in January.
Georgian Interior Ministry says that they have identified and charged an individual who was the first to make private footage of Georgian MP Eka Beselia go viral back in January 2019. The ministry says that the individual is a Georgian citizen who is currently imprisoned in Armenia on murder charges.
Independent MP Eka Belesia, who once was a member of the Georgian Dream ruling party, attacked ruling party MP Vano Zardiashvili during the hearing for a candidate to the Supreme Court during the Legal Issues Committee meeting of parliament earlier today.