A journalist in South Ossetia says she is facing pressure from the authorities, for an article about an alleged disagreement between the South Ossetian leader and an influential Russian investor. After her office was searched, Irina Kelekhsayeva says she was asked to leave her job.
Kelekhsayeva, who works for South Ossetian state-owned TV and radio station Ir, claims that on 19 February, six people in civilian clothes searched her office at Ir without an official warrant.
According toEkho Kavkaza, for whom she also contributes, Kelekhsayeva identified some of them as members of the State Security Service and the personal security service of President Anatoly Bibilov.
She said the management of Ir called her to request her resignation later that day. ‘I answered that I really love my work, I don’t see any grounds for leaving, and I will not resign’, she said.
Controversial article
Kelekhsayeva claims that even before the search, there were attempts to discredit her on Facebook.
In a 16 February article for Ekho Kavkaza titled — ‘How the President and an investor fell out’ — Kelekhsayeva detailed a reported disagreement between Bibilov and one of the largest investors in South Ossetia Taymuraz Bolloyev. Bolloyev heads the BTC Group, a Russian clothing company.
Kelekhsayeva said the director of Ir had been instructed to fire her on 18 February, but had initially resisted; she says she now fears this has changed.
Kelekhsayeva told OC Media on 21 February that this was not the first time she had faced pressure from the authorities for her work, but that ‘they have never behaved so stupidly and hysterically before’.
‘One of the least free places in Europe’
Akhalgori (Leningor) based journalist Tamara Mearakishvili, who has been a vocal critic of the authorities, was charged with ‘violating the dignity of and honour’ of the South Ossetian ruling party, United Ossetia, in August last year.
Mearakishvili says she has been under ‘unofficial house arrest’ since then, and has been unable leave South Ossetia because of the charges against her.
In the latest edition of American rights group Freedom House’s Freedom in the World report, South Ossetia was ranked as one of the least free places in Europe, along with Crimea and Azerbaijan.
For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.
President Alan Gagloyev’s Nykhas party has won parliamentary elections in South Ossetia, securing at least 13 seats in the 34-seat parliament.
According to the South Ossetian authorities, almost 22,000 people in South Ossetia went to the polls on Sunday to cast ballots for the legislature, according to official figures.
According to official results published on Monday, former president Anatoli Bibilov’s United Ossetia party came on top in the national vote, winning 31.5%, just ahead of Nyk
South Ossetian President Alan Gagloyev has signed a decree suspending a planned referendum on the annexation of South Ossetia by Russia, South Ossetian state-news agency RES has reported.
According to RES, Gagloyev’s decree cited ‘the inadmissibility of a unilateral decision of a referendum on issues affecting the legitimate rights and interests of the Russian Federation’.
The referendum was called by then–President Anatoly Bibilov on 13 May, just days after he was defeated by Gagloyev in th
South Ossetian President Anatoly Bibilov has signed a decree ordering a referendum on the annexation of South Ossetia by Russia on 17 July.
In a message on Telegram earlier on Friday evening, the outgoing president said that ‘very soon, our big dream will come true!’
‘Russia and South Ossetia are connected by a common history’, he wrote. ‘It’s not just a partnership or friendship, rather, it is a trusting relationship between two brothers, where the older brother will always understand and s
Alan Gagloyev, chair of the opposition Nykhas party and former intelligence officer, has defeated incumbent President Anatoly Bibilov in South Ossetia’s presidential elections.
The second round of the presidential elections was held on Sunday. The Central Election Commission counted 97% of the votes so far — the incumbent president received 43% and Alan Gagloyev 54%.
Alan Gagloyev, 41-years-old, has led Nykhas since 2020. The party holds four out of 35 seats in the South Ossetian Parliament.
A journalist in South Ossetia says she is facing pressure from the authorities, for an article about an alleged disagreement between the South Ossetian leader and an influential Russian investor. After her office was searched, Irina Kelekhsayeva says she was asked to leave her job.
