How authorities are trying to suppress Shukruti protests: Interview with a lawyer on the dispute’s details, 17 September 2024

For 6 days and nights, in Chiatura, Shukruti village residents whose homes were destroyed by the company Georgian Manganese, have been protesting in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi. Men, women, children, and the elderly are enduring harsh conditions in the open air. 5 participants in the protest have sewn their mouths shut and have been on a hunger strike since September 1. This extreme form of protest was chosen to attract the government's attention. The Prime Minister has previously responded to the Shukruti villagers' protest by stating that the organizers have received tens of thousands of GEL in compensation from the company...

After the affected Shukruti residents arrived in Tbilisi from Chiatura on the 183rd day of their protest and began rallying in front of the Parliament, the company Chiatura Management Company LLC has been actively disseminating documents through government channels and social networks, claiming that they have fully paid the compensation to some individuals. Moreover, they have repeatedly accused the protesters of blackmailing the company and demanding payment a second time. In reality, of the 33 families participating in the protest...18 families among the protesters have not received any compensation for the damage caused by manganese mining. Only a small amount has been provided to a few families.

Only 6 individuals have received relatively substantial compensation. After reviewing the documents, it is clear that for one of these 6, the amount received was an advance...

Magaroeli LLC, a company founded by Georgian Manganese, paid Jumber Tsutskiridze in four installments between 2021 and 2022 - 10 000, 20 000, 50 000, and 5000 GEL. A written agreement was signed between the parties, specifying that these payments were advances and that the total compensation amount would be determined based on an objective and fair assessment.

Such an assessment has not been conducted, and this is one of the primary demands of the protesters. They are calling for Georgian Manganese to assess the damage according to the settlement criteria of the National Bureau of Forensic Expertise and to provide fair compensation to the victims...

- We know that Georgian Manganese and related companies are also suing the participants of the protest in court. How many lawsuits have been filed, and what are the companies demanding? Have the dismissed employees who participated in the protest appealed to the court?

- So far, two lawsuits have been filed against the rally participants. I believe these lawsuits should not be accepted by the court due to their incomprehensible and absurd nature...