Prosecutor's Office Begins Prosecution of Chiatura Protest Participants

Police investigator Rezo Asanidze contacted Giorgi Neparidze and Roman Megrelishvili, participants in the protest, and summoned them for questioning. They refused to go to the police station, informing the investigator that they were willing to testify before the magistrate judge. Despite not interviewing them, the prosecutor's office, according to Mtis Ambebi, has decided to press charges against all three under Article 226 of the Criminal Code. The office will apply to the court tomorrow, July 31, requesting preventive measures.

Article 226 pertains to organizing a group action that grossly violates public order, involves clear disobedience to a lawful request from a government representative, or disrupts the operations of transport, enterprises, institutions, or organizations. It also covers active participation in such actions. The crime is punishable by a fine, community service for 120 to 180 hours, correctional work for up to two years, house arrest for six months to two years, or imprisonment for up to three years.

The investigation into the protest participants began after an incident on July 20, when managers of Georgian Manganese attempted to forcibly resume work at the mine.

According to Giorgi Neparidze, company representatives brought some employees to the mine, falsely telling them that the protest participants had agreed to restart operations. Residents of Shukruti, who have been protesting continuously at the Korokhnali mine for 140 days, blocked the entrance to prevent Georgian Manganese from resuming work. The residents demand an adequate assessment of the damage caused by uncontrolled manganese mining and full compensation, as their houses have been destroyed.

Security staff from SSS and Georgian Manganese, led by Zurab Kanchaveli, attempted to force open the gate and restart operations, which the protestors resisted. All 35 families, including men and women, were present, and the rally participants were physically assaulted. Some entered the mine area and tried to open the gate, but the miners brought in under coercion and deception did not proceed. The protestors called the police, but there was no response; officers stood by and observed.

The rally participants required emergency medical assistance. After doctors arrived, the company's representatives and the police left the area.

Residents of Shukruti have had to protest against the Korokhnali mine under conditions akin to torture. 

Despite the mine's operations being halted, Georgian Manganese, with the assistance of the police, activated the so-called ventilation system a few weeks ago. This system emits a deafening noise 24 hours a day at the mine's entrance.

Before this, Magharoeli LLC, a subcontractor of Georgian Manganese, filed a court application demanding that Shukruti residents be prohibited from protesting near the Korokhnali mine. The company also requested that

• the court prevent Shukruti residents from interfering with its equipment and workers, even if it continues extracting manganese under their houses.
• The company further sought a court order to confiscate the privately owned houses and plots of land of the protest participants "upon first request" for four years, handing them over to the company for manganese extraction.
• The landowners were to demolish and clear their houses or storehouses themselves.

Magharoeli LLC is suing 14 people in court, two of whom are deceased. To intimidate and punish the protest participants, the contractor companies of Georgian Manganese fired Giorgi Bitsadze and Jumber Tsutskiridze, two participants in the protest. Roman Megrelishvili was threatened with dismissal twice. Jumber Tsutskiridze has appealed his dismissal in court.

Temur Khonelia, the administrative director of Georgian Manganese, did not respond to Mtis Ambebi regarding why the company reported the protest participants to the police and why they did not meet their demands.

The head of the company's social projects department, Nika Bichikashvili, explained that the police were contacted due to the blocking of the enterprise. He mentioned that "a few days ago, the ventilation system was turned off for the second time, which makes entering and climbing in the mine dangerous, as without ventilation, underground tunnels can collapse and cause property damage."

Regarding the participants' demands for compensation, Bichikashvili stated that in 2020, the company signed a memorandum with 280 families living in Shukruti village. "We were supposed to work and compensate for the losses according to a plan. We were expected to pay between 700,000 and 1 million per year, and we have paid up to 12 million. The organizers of the action have received full compensation," he noted.

Vladimer Kutateladze, a lawyer from the Civic Activities Center representing the protest participants in Chiatura, claimed that the memorandum the company refers to was not distributed to the residents, who signed blank sheets of paper. "The memorandum itself is unfair. It does not provide for compensation payments and defines the signing of individual contracts. The fact that this memorandum was a formality is evidenced by the contracts signed with some participants after the hunger strike and facial injuries in 2021, which were not based on the memorandum's terms. Furthermore, the compensation amounts paid to some are disputed, as the parties cannot agree on the damage assessment criteria. The company deposited the amount as an advance, to be deducted from the total cost when the damage is assessed and summed up according to agreed criteria. The company's audit rates are inappropriately lower than the National Bureau of Forensic Science, which has been proven in some cases. That is why the affected population is requesting a damage assessment by a forensic expert. After the longest strike in 2021, the company promised and included in the contract that the damage would be assessed by the Bureau of Forensic Examination, but there is still no conclusion. This is one of the main demands of the current protest," the lawyer stated. He believes that Georgian Manganese, with the government's help, is repressing the protest participants to force them to agree to their terms.