Interior Ministry fined for violation of personal data law in case of deceased cameraman Lashkarava

TV Pirveli cameraman Lekso Lashkarava was attacked by right-wing activities during Tbilisi Pride events on July 5, while he was found dead in his home on July 11. Photo: euronews Georgia.

Agenda.ge, 24 Sep 2021 - 12:30, Tbilisi,Georgia

The Georgian State Inspector’s Office has fined the country’s Interior Ministry 2,000 GEL for a violation of the personal data law by releasing footage from July 11, 2021 depicting the deceased cameraman of TV Pirveli Lekso Lashkarava.

Lashkarava was attacked by right-wing activists during Tbilisi Pride events in central Tbilisi on July 5, and he was found dead in his home on July 11 several days after being discharged from hospital. 

To inform the public of the possible reasons behind his death, on July 11 the Interior Ministry released several videos in which Lashkarava was driving a moped to several locations in Tbilisi on July 10, including Ponichala, which is a district known for drug dealing.

The ministry said that a drug overdose could have been the cause of death, however, it added that the results of the autopsy were mandatory to make a final conclusion.

As none of the videos released by the ministry responded to the main question amongst the public on the concrete reason for his death, and as the ministry was unable to clarify the connection between the footage and the cause of death, the release of the footage has been assessed as the violation of the law on the protection of personal data,” said the State Inspector’s Office. 

The agency said that the ministry also obtained one of the videos through ignoring mandatory procedures and fined the medical facility, which gave the footage to the ministry 500 GEL.