Cameraman says he fell down of 2nd floor during fight with ruling party activists
Tweet 
Share
Opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi cameraman Levan Ablotia, who received injuries in the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party office in Kareli yesterday, has dismissed the allegations of the channel head Nika Gvaramia that he was thrown out of the second floor by GD activists.
Ablotia has told journalists earlier today that there was a confrontation in the office and that GD activists were aggressive to the staff of opposition-minded channels.
I have never witnessed such aggression before," Ablotia said.
He stated that four or five activists tried to grab his camera and that during the fight he was walking backwards and then fell down.
Ablotia has already been discharged from hospital with multiple fractures and bruises, said Mtavari Arkhi.
Doctors say that Ablotia had no fractures, 'only superficial injuries,' that is why he was discharged so quickly.
The Georgian Dream party has responded to the incident and accused the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party and its ‘affiliated TV channels’ of staging provocations and spreading fake information.
Gvaramia sent there his journalists to stage provocations. We have a recording how the cameraman fell down himself from a two-meter height (not from the second floor) and walking freely after the incident," ruling party head Irakli Kobakhidze said.
Kobakhidze stated that Mtavari Arkhi also had a recording which showed the incident and that Ablotia ‘fell down himself.’ However, the channel deliberately hid the recording.
Opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi reported earlier today that its cameraman Levan Ablotia was thrown out of the second floor of the ruling Georgian Dream party headquarters in Kareli, in Shida Kartli region.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili says that Mtavari Arkhi TV, which used his ID number to register Garibashvili for the second shot of the coronavirus vaccine without his consent, ‘is shameful’. “Yesterday Mtavari Arkhi TV committed yet another lie and provocation… They used my ID number and registered me for the second shot of [the coronavirus] vaccine without my consent ”, Garibashvili said.
Election polls commissioned by the opposition-minded TV channel Mtavari Arkhi say the ruling Georgian Dream party will receive 25 per cent of votes in the upcoming October 31 parliamentary elections.
The co-founder of the opposition-minded TV channel Mtavari Arkhi Giorgi Rurua was found guilty for the illegal possession and carrying of firearms and has been sentenced to four years in prison by Tbilisi City Court earlier today.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated that ‘very serious provocations’ from the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party are expected ahead of the October 2 local elections. Garibashvili responded to the head of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party Irakli Kobakhidze’s recent statement regarding the possible provocations from UNM and stated that he shares the fellow party member’s opinion.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has released a video depicting opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi cameraman Levan Ablotia, ‘walking freely at the time the channel claimed he was unconscious.’