New sexual harassment scandal in Georgia by pro-government journalist

Shalva Ramishvili accused of sexual harassment

Tabula journalist Mako Jabua, has accused Shalva Ramishvili, a pro-government journalist and host of the state-run video portal POSTV, of sexual harassment.

Mako Jabua is the second woman to openly accuse Shalva Ramishvili of sexual harassment. Prior to this,Tatia Samkharadze sued Ramishvili and won in court.

Shalva Ramishvili has been an active supporter and propagandist of the Georgian Dream party for many years. During the 2013 presidential elections, he led the PR campaign of ex-president Giorgi Margvelashvili, then worked in the presidential administration.

In 2014, Ramishvili left the presidential administration and was the host of the Imedi television company, where Tatia Samkharadze also worked. She sued Ramishvili for sexual harassment. Imedi terminated their contract with Ramishvili, after which he founded the Internet television POSTV, which later became a TV channel.

The owner of a 52% controlling stake in POSTV is Viktor Japaridze, a member of the Power of the People movement, which formally separated from the ruling party and initiated the controversial “law on foreign agents.” POSTV is the media platform of this political group.

Under the previous government, in 2005, Shalva Ramishvili was arrested on charges of extortion of MP Koba Bekauri and spent four years in prison.

“I don’t remember exactly what year it was. About seven or eight years ago. It was very difficult to get a job, I had no one to help me. I always wanted to be a journalist. My close friend worked with Shalva Ramishvili and told me that he was looking for people. I saw this as my chance and agreed.

“Our meeting started normally. He asked me several questions. And then he said that I had a non-standard appearance (I had red hair and piercings),” jabua says. Then, according to her, he began to ask her obscene questions and make proposals.

“I already knew who I was dealing with. I don’t know, I decided that I shouldn’t be afraid, I should remain calm, but I turned to stone.” According to her he then undressed, did nothing further, then gave her 10 lari [about $4] for a taxi and sent her home.

“I will never forget those 10 lari that I, like a robot, took and left. Then I walked for two hours, and when I got home, I cried for a long time in the bathroom. He texted me that evening, I didn’t reply. He texted me for a few days and then asked my friend what I was planning to do,” Jabua says.

She says she did not report the incident and said nothing for a long time.

Sexual harassment began to be punished in Georgia in 2019 after changes were made to the Code of Administrative Offenses, the Labor Code, the Code of Civil Procedure and the Law on Public Defender.

The concept of “sexual harassment” had not existed in Georgian legislation, so there was no responsibility for such actions. Now, according to the labor code, sexual harassment is considered undesirable behavior of a sexual nature, which is intended to cause humiliation of a person’s dignity or create an offensive or hostile environment.

Under the law, sexual harassment is punishable by a fine of 300 lari [about $115] as an administrative penalty. Inn case of repeated violation within a year, a fine of 500 lari [about $190] or correctional labor for up to one month is stipulayed.