On the second day after the announcement of the protest by the residents of Shukruti village near Bidzina Ivanishvili's house, one of the organizers, Giorgi Neparidze, faced additional charges from the Sachkhere district prosecutor's office. The prosecutor's office did not clarify whether they will seek Neparidze's arrest, as he has already been granted bail.
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As per the indictment, on July 20, 2024, between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., Giorgi Neparidze closed the entrance metal door of the Korokhnali mine with large metal so-called catankas. As a result, he and other participants in the rally prevented the employees of Magharoeli LLC from entering the building, a situation that continued until September 27, 2024.
The prosecutor's office states that Giorgi Neparidze committed a crime under Article 226 of the Criminal Code, which involves organizing a group action and actively participating in it, thereby violating public order and causing a delay in the work of the enterprise.
According to Giorgi Neparidze's lawyer, Vladimer Kutateladze, the prosecutor's office has also included in the criminal case the contracts and payment receipts signed between several participants in the protest and Magharoeli LLC, as well as Georgian Manganese LLC.
"These documents have nothing to do with a possible crime, and the investigation should not have been interested in them. The inclusion of these documents in the case directly indicates and emphasizes the purpose of initiating criminal proceedings against these individuals, somehow forcing them to stop protesting," the lawyer stated.
Giorgi Neparidze and two other rally participants, Roman Megrelishvili and Malkhaz Labadze, were initially charged by the Sachkhere Prosecutor's Office under the same article of the Criminal Code on August 1. In this instance, the prosecution accused the defendants of disrupting the work of the enterprise on July 21. This time, Neparidze is accused of committing the same crime on July 20. All three defendants have been granted bail as a preventive measure in the first episode. None of them agrees with the charges presented.
On September 26, Giorgi Neparidze announced at a demonstration in front of the Public Broadcaster building that a protest rally will be organized near Bidzina Ivanishvili's house in Mtatsminda on the evening of October 1.
Residents of Shukruti, along with participants of the solidarity rally, gathered in front of the Public Broadcaster building to express their protest. They are demanding that publicly funded television cover their issues in depth and provide live broadcasts detailing the company's actions that have turned Chiatura into a disaster zone.
Residents of Shukruti village have been holding a continuous protest near the Korokhnali and Shukruti mines in Chiatura since March 13. Both mines are closed. Some miners have expressed their solidarity with the affected residents of Shukruti. The people of Shukruti are demanding that Georgian Manganese allow the National Bureau of Forensic Expertise to evaluate the damage caused by manganese mining and pay fair compensation to the victims so they can continue their lives in a safe environment. The participants of the protest are calling for attention from the central government and their involvement in the process. 5 participants have been on hunger strike since September 1. On September 11, the residents of Shukruti moved in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi. The police did not allow them to set up a tent, despite the participants’ legal right to do so.
The peaceful protest march planned near Ivanishvili's house (in Tchorvila village of Sachkhere) has already been disrupted once by traffic control. Specially mobilized individuals met the protesters at the entrance of the village, and none of the rally participants were allowed into the village of the country's informal ruler. Along with dozens of patrol and criminal police officers, teams from the Special Tasks Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were also mobilized in Sachkhere. Since about thirty protesting women could not enter Tchorvila, the operation was led by Zaza Tskhakaia, head of the Imereti Police Department, and his deputy, Koka Maisuradze. The police were checking each car entering the village one by one.
Georgian Manganese is even suing the participants of the action in court and demanding that the victims hand over their residential houses and yards for manganese extraction. Additionally, the company is seeking 5.5 million GEL in compensation for damages from the participants of the action. At the request of Georgian Manganese, the Sachkhere court has seized the houses and plots of land belonging to the rally participants and their family members, as well as their close relatives. The company has also fired five employees for participating in the action.
