Media, public bid farewell to July 5 Tbilisi Pride counter-rally victim, cameraman Lekso Lashkarava
During the procession, Lashkarava's body was led through a 'camera corridor' made by cameramen of various media outlets. Colleagues, relatives and other people who came to the procession said goodbye to the deceased cameraman with applause. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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TV Pirveli cameraman Lekso Lashkarava, who was beaten severely at the July 5 Tbilisi pride counter rally and later passed away on July 11, will be buried today at Jikia cemetery in Tbilisi.
Today a procession was held in honour of the memory of Lashkarava. During the procession, Lashkarava's body was led through a 'camera corridor' made by cameramen of various media outlets. Colleagues, relatives and other people who came to the procession said goodbye to the deceased cameraman with applause.
Employees of the TV Pirveli brought to the house of Lashkarava all the work items that he had with him during the coverage of the July 5 rally and which were destroyed during the physical violence.
Photo: Rustavi 2.
Lekso Lashkarava will be interred next to his father.
Some journalists wore T-shirts with a photo of the injured Lashkarava printed on them.
Regional media outlets stopped their regular programming for 10 minutes at 15:00 today and broadcast a black screen with the text #forLekso.
#Georgia #Tbilisi: hapenning now Media community is applauding to the victim of violence against media on July 5 #tbilisipride counter rally, cameraman #leksolashkarava. RIP, friend pic.twitter.com/qpFDXnKOy2
— agenda.ge (@agenda_ge) July 13, 2021
Journalists attending the funeral of Lashkarava said that Georgian media demands only one main thing: that all participants and supporters of the violence on July 5-6 be punished.
The deceased was insulted in every way possible. They confront the truth with a lie. Everyone will receive a decent answer and see what power the angry media has", said Inga Grigolia, a journalist of TV Pirveli.
Opposition politicians have also joined the demand of the journalists and are even considering to start a 'no-confidence motion' in the parliament.
Zaal Udumashvili of the United National Movement said that 'all parliamentary levers will be used to punish everyone responsible for the violence.’
Opposition MP Davit Bakradze joined the boycott of other opposition parties and refused to engage in daily parliamentary work.
When the perpetrators are not investigated and punished, and the government is doing everything to blame Lashkarava for his own death, it seems unbelievable to me to enter the plenary hall of the parliament and discuss the issues", Bakradze said.
#Georgia #Tbilisi happening now: Friends and colleges bid farewell to the victim of 5 july #tbilisipride counter rally, cameraman #LeksoLashkarava. pic.twitter.com/gTNy0puFYG
— agenda.ge (@agenda_ge) July 13, 2021
Leader of the For Georgia party Giorgi Gakharia said that he does not need much investigation to make conclusions after seeing 'when the state failed to fulfill its main purpose and could not protect either Lashkarava, nor other journalists, and other citizens of Georgia'.
The main reason when the state fails to perform its basic function is the collapse of institutions. Of course, it is the responsibility of the state when there is violence in the country, no matter who is the organiser of this violence or who is the instigator of this violence, of course, it is the responsibility of state institutions to protect the health and lives of every citizen", Gakharia said.
Leader of the party For Justice Eka Beselia expressed her condolences to the family of Laskharava and blamed the authorities for the incident.
What do they want to prove by digging absurd versions? In addition to violating all written norms, there are also unwritten rules, including in Christianity, something to stop you when facing a mother of a dead son. Publishing interim findings as if something else were the cause of death, make this fact even more disgusting than it is", Beselia said.
Head of the Central Criminal Police Mamuka Tchelidze said yesterday that although the forensic examination is still underway to reveal the exact reason for Lashkarava’s death, the samples taken from the corpse contained traces of various drugs, including morphine and codeine.
Earlier today journalists and cameramen took the podium during a briefing of Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia, and held a minute of silence in protest of the death of Lashkarava.