Tamar Mearakishvili

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The crossing had been and is again expected to be permitted on foot only. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Georgia

South Ossetia to partially reopen crossing points for Akhalgori Georgians

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

The authorities in South Ossetia are to reopen the checkpoints between South Ossetian and Georgian government-controlled areas for 10 days per month. The change is the most significant relaxation of restrictions on movement put on ethnic Georgian residents of South Ossetia’s southeastern Akhalgori (Leningor) region in nearly three years. On Thursday, South Ossetian government-run news agency Res reported that the Security Council had decided to allow residents of Akhalgori and Java (Dzau) d

Tamara Mearakishvili in court in October 2019. Photo: Tamara Mearakishvili.

Georgia

Defiant activist blocks South Ossetian authorities from dropping charges against her

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

Tamara Mearakishvili, an ethnic-Georgian activist and journalist in South Ossetia, has mounted a successful legal challenge to prevent the authorities from dropping charges against her without acknowledging that they were baseless. Mearakishvili won a lawsuit against South Ossetia’s Prosecutor’s Office. She filed the suit in the South Ossetian courts in April in response to a decision by the General Prosecutor’s Office to end several criminal cases against her without giving her the chance t

Georgia

South Ossetian government critic has electricity cut

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

Journalist and activist Tamara Mearakishvili has reported that she has been without electricity at home since last Wednesday in what she says is an act of retribution from the South Ossetian authorities. According to Mearakishvili, who is ethnic-Georgian, local power distribution company Energoresurs cut her power off on 16 September over a liability she says was written off three years ago. Shortly before, South Ossetian prosecutor Alan Kulumbegov accused her of avoiding a ₽9,000 ($115) ele

Tamar: ‘One day, if I stay longer in Tbilisi, I want to open an Ossetian bakery. I want to name it “bakery number 961705” after my case number. Illustration: Dato Parulava/OC Media.

Georgia

Voice | Tamara Mearakishvili: ‘If I’m found guilty, I will not run away’

by Mariam Nikuradze

•12 min read

Tamar Mearakishvili is an ethnic-Georgian activist and journalist in South Ossetia. Since her arrest in 2017 for ‘defamation’, she has been locked in a legal battle with the authorities. Tamar reflects on her life in Akhalgori, her legal woes, and the reaction of the Georgian Government to her case and others. ‘I was born in Akhalgori; my parents are from here as well. I finished school in Akhalgori, I was a very active child, I studied well.’ ‘My class teacher gave the same evaluation

Freedom of the Press

South Ossetian journalist accused of ‘slander and forgery’ acquitted by local court

by OC Media

•2 min read

The Akhalgori (Leningor) District court has found South Ossetian journalist Tamara Mearakishvili not guilty of charges of slander and falsely obtaining citizenship on the basis of forged documentation. Mearakishvili announced her victory on Facebook and said that she had been cleared of all charges. Mearakishvili’s lawyer, Ikramzhan Ramatov, told RFE/RL’s Ekho Kavkaza that ‘justice triumphed’ after ‘two years of physical and psychological breakdowns and hard work’. The court also lif

Akhalgori

Ruling party loses majority in South Ossetian parliament

by OC Media

•9 min read

The ruling United Ossetia Party has lost their majority in South Ossetia’s parliament, winning just 14 of 34 seats. Official results were published on Wednesday evening with 100% of votes counted. The party of President Anatoly Bibilov, who formally resigned as party leader on being elected to office in 2017, still came out on top in 9 June’s vote. Ninety-eight candidates, 60 party-nominated and 38 independents, competed in Sunday’s vote for 17 single-mandate seats, with United Osseti

Freedom of the Press

Prosecuted South Ossetian journalist accuses Georgian deputy minister of ‘blackmail’

by OC Media

•4 min read

South Ossetian journalist Tamar Mearakishvili has accused Georgian deputy minister of reconciliation Lasha Darsalia of threatening and blackmailing her. Mearakishvili, who the authorities in South Ossetia are prosecuting for ‘slander and forgery’, has been critical of the Georgian government for failing to do more to help her. Darsalia has denied the allegations, telling OC Media there must be a ‘misunderstanding’. Mearakishvili went on hunger strike last week to protest what she called