On September 3, the pro-government TV company Rustavi 2 published a social media card on Facebook featuring quotes from the current and former directors of the non-governmental organization International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED). The quotes concerned the NGO’s procurement of face masks and gas masks, which the organization’s leaders had to explain after it became known on August 27 that the bank accounts of seven NGOs had been frozen and their leaders were summoned for questioning in the so-called sabotage case.
The following quotes were highlighted on Rustavi 2’s social media card:
| September 3 | August 27 |
| Nino Dolidze: “The face masks, which we are allegedly being questioned about, were purchased for employees – these people were carrying out monitoring.” | Levan Natroshvili: “We bought about thirty gas masks and goggles for our own employees, since they were participating in demonstrations as ordinary protesters.” |
Based on these two quotes, Rustavi 2 claims that ISFED’s leaders are making mutually contradictory statements regarding the purchase of face masks and gas masks.
Rustavi 2’s social media card is manipulative, as Levan Natroshvili’s words are not quoted in full. In the complete quote, Natroshvili states that face masks were purchased both for employees who participated in demonstrations as ordinary protesters and for those who were engaged in monitoring. Therefore, the explanations of ISFED’s former and current leaders are not contradictory.
On August 27, the Tbilisi City Court granted the Prosecutor’s Office’s motion to freeze the accounts of seven non-governmental organizations as part of the so-called sabotage case. ISFED was among them. A few days later, the organization’s leaders were also summoned for questioning. Nino Dolidze gave her testimony on September 3 in the presence of a magistrate judge.
After giving her testimony, Nino Dolidze also commented to media representatives. She spoke to journalists about targeted actions against civil society, the campaign to discredit the organization, and the grounds for being summoned for questioning. Dolidze said that the purchase of face masks was meant to protect the safety of employees engaged in monitoring, and that the organization had not purchased anything for the protests:
Nino Dolidze (0:30): “Fair Elections has never purchased anything for protests. The face masks that we are allegedly being questioned about were for the employees, because I had to protect my employees’ safety. These people were defending human rights, they were monitoring, and naturally, I was obliged, as a director, to protect their rights, not the opposite.”
ISFED’s current director, Levan Natroshvili, responded on August 27 to the information circulated about certain organizations financing protests and purchasing necessary equipment. He described the freezing of accounts and the discrediting campaign as motivated by the ruling party Georgian Dream’s attempt to destroy civil society and to sabotage visa liberalization with the European Union. Regarding the purchase of face masks, he explained that they were bought for the organization’s employees. Some employees participated in protests as ordinary demonstrators, while others, under the organization’s mandate, were monitoring the process. The face masks were intended to protect them from the special means used to disperse protests. Natroshvili wrote on Facebook:
Levan Natroshvili: “Also, for full transparency, I will say that we bought about thirty gas masks and goggles for our own employees, since some of them were participating in demonstrations as ordinary protesters, just like tens of thousands of citizens of Georgia, while others were monitoring the process under our organization’s mandate. Naturally, none of us wanted these people to be poisoned by the tear gas and other special means used by the police.”
Therefore, Rustavi 2 did not fully disseminate Levan Natroshvili’s quote, in which he stated that face masks were also purchased for employees engaged in monitoring. By selectively quoting Natroshvili and claiming that the current and former directors were making contradictory statements, the media outlet misleads the audience.
| Levan Natroshvili’s quote as reported by Rustavi 2: | Levan Natroshvili’s full quote: |
| “We bought about thirty gas masks and goggles for our own employees, since the employees were participating in demonstrations as ordinary protesters.” | “Also, for full transparency, I will say that we bought about thirty gas masks and goggles for our own employees, since some of them were participating in demonstrations as ordinary protesters, just like tens of thousands of citizens of Georgia, while others were monitoring the process under our organization’s mandate. Naturally, none of us wanted these people to be poisoned by the tear gas and other special means used by the police.” |
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