Pro-Russian organization in Georgia publicly threatens civil activist
Alt-Info threatens civil activist
Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri has been questioned in Parliament today, March 17, about how he intends to protect the safety of activists who are publicly threatened by members of the pro-Russian group Alt-Info and the Conservative Movement.
This time, the victim of Alt-Info’s threats is an activist Samira Bayramova, who lives in Marneuli, a city populated by ethnic Azerbaijanis in the Kvemo Kartli region.
A few days ago, on March 14, Samira Bayramova, in protest against the opening of the office of the Conservative Movement at the Alt-Info base in Marneuli, painted the wall of the office in the colors of the flags of Ukraine and the European Union.
After this, Samira Bayramova began to receive threats from members of the group. On March 16, a video of Alt-Info supporters was posted on social media, calling on Samira Bayramova to restore the facade of the office to its original state, for which she was given two days.
“We went out to Marneuli to warn, we want to convey these words to our Muslim brothers, so that they make it clear to this woman (Samira Bayramova) that she can provoke a split on religious and national grounds, which the (opposition party) National Movement really wants”, the video says.
The activist also received messages with death threats from members of the Conservative Movement.
“When we talk about Russia trying to sow fear, I want to ask you about the feeling of insecurity that an openly pro-Russian organized force is trying to sow inside the country.
These aggressive groups began to sow fear in the regions of Georgia. I ask you – how did you react to Samira Bayramova’s statement that aggressive groups threaten her with murder?”, Teona Akubardia, member of the opposition faction “Giorgi Vashadze – Agmashenebeli Strategy”, addressed the Minister of Internal Affairs, who spoke today in Parliament in the “ministerial hour” format.
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Human rights activists and non-governmental organizations operating in Georgia also called for the protection of Samira Bayramova.
The Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), which defends the rights of Samira Bayramova, calls on the Georgian authorities to take appropriate measures to protect her safety and promptly investigate all cases of threats.
Samira Bayramova herself applied to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in regards to the threats made against her. An investigation has been launched under Article 151 of the Criminal Code (threats of death, bodily harm or destruction of property).
GYLA is skeptical about this investigation:
“The organization of group violence by this group on July 5-6, 2021 and the public call for such actions still go unpunished, which reduces confidence in the investigation and encourages the actions of riot groups”, the organization said in a statement.
Today, another non-governmental organization, the Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI), called on the authorities to protect Samira Bayramova.
The organization’s statement emphasizes that Alt-Info, registered as a political party, is an instrument of Russian aggressive propaganda in Georgia, fighting for democratic principles and human rights, Georgia’s sovereignty and Euro-Atlantic integration.
The Marneuli police have already interrogated Samira Bayramova today. Bayramova herself wrote about this on her Facebook page.
Alt-Info is a violent pro-Russian group. Its leaders are also the leaders of the political Conservative Movement party, which was registered on December 7, 2021.
The founders of the “Conservative Movement” are the organizers of the pogrom on July 5, when aggressive groups protesting against the holding of an LGBT pride in Tbilisi beat more than 50 journalists and sacked the offices of several organizations.
For participation in the riots, direct participants in the violence were detained, but the organizers were never punished.
The new political party is in favor of breaking off relations with the West, refusing to integrate into NATO and the EU, bringing Georgia into Russia’s sphere of influence and deploying Russian military bases to the country.
The leaders of the movement openly call for violence against LGBT activists, representatives of the pro-Western media and political parties.
In recent days, the party, one by one, opens offices in the regions of Georgia.
