Journalist claims she was fired from university job over her political views
Journalist Keti Partskhaladze has written on social media that she was fired as the head of the Marketing and Public Relations Department at the Giorgi Mtatsmindeli Higher Educational Institution of Ecclesiastical Chant due to her political views.
According to Partskhaladze, she had received much praise from the university administration prior to the start of the protests, and had even set up a strategic plan for the following year with the head of the administration, Nana Gotua.
‘Since the end of November, I have been attending rallies and expressing my position on my Facebook wall — about the beatings of journalists and not only them, the inaction of law enforcement officers, etc.’, she wrote.
Partskhaladze emphasised that she had agreed with Gotua to refrain from being active on the university’s social media networks for a certain period of time.
‘During this period, a friend advised me not to express my opinion publicly, because Ms Nana would not like it. I did not believe them, I considered it more important for at least one more person to say that what was happening was unacceptable. During this period, I felt that the attitude of the head of the administration towards me had cooled’, Partskhaladze wrote.
On 25 December, Partskhaladze allegedly received a letter stating that her contract would not be extended from January. According to her, the reason given by the university administration was a shortage of funds in the budget.
‘If you are going to make me unemployed tomorrow, at least prepare me. What kind of trouble are we living in?! Why should the party’s hand come before me? Why should someone express loyalty to the party like that, when the name of the university is behind it this time?!’, Partskhaladze wrote.