breastpin. opposition. this small village of beauty in the foothills of the caucasus mountains it's saturday march thirteenth two thousand and ten. comes home after a day's work at

a vineyard and falls asleep in a room where his father is watching the evening news on the t.v. channel. i was sleeping on that sofa. when the program began my father was sitting here. watching from. i woke up because mother was screaming about the start of the war. father lying on the floor. i can't remember clearly what happened next somebody rushed to the neighbors to ask them for help. my father when. he was already dead. the ambulance came just fifteen minutes after being called the cause of death according to doctors. induced by a program on the t.v. channel. involving georgian political analysts and journalists.

viewers didn't see the usually scheduled evening news instead they were shown a thirty minute program creating the impression that a war had broken out between russia and georgia the anchor woman on the talk show had announced that the program would be based on a fictional situation only a minute before it started so anybody who tuned into the program after that warning thought they were watching a regular news bulletins. in a few minutes president saakashvili is expected to make a special statement on the situation in the country know if it's going to be recorded all written that it's being reported that the russian troops deployed have been put on combat. descriptives something straight out of a. opposition leader. to meet members of the russian.

agents with words according to the authors of the program. in this. company. through the. changes why haven't they detained the people featured in the script up still saakashvili has to bear in mind that he must produce concrete facts about being otherwise he will demonstrate once again that she's a liar and irresponsible. god someone of. any. journalist. investigations. came to power he was the kind of journalist. questions regardless of

who held the country's reins. it. could. concerning the. cap. of south the city this is interview with a set in human rights campaigner live at seven. she recounts events of august seventh two thousand and eight nobody seen it besides john himself but georgia

state controlled media didn't need to watch it to declare it a provocation on august the seventh georgia's president mikheil saakashvili spoke of bring it to talks in any form and. he addressed the people of salt to say. just say he had all that a unilateral cease fire in the east he said he wouldn't yield to any provocations and you did and he assured us said they could go to bed in peace spots but it. was on the night of august the eight large caliber guns fired on scene vall from the georgian side. the military operation circus really referred to as the enforcement of constitutional order in the territory of self the set you had begun . yes i will cop to face something really terrible at the end there was

a deafening noise everything was shaking. and no women in the streets whois ninety minute crying. was as if we had launched into hell after the will cain explosion of. the independent journalist work in a city it was seen by many in georgia as a betrayal of his country. i know of no journalist who wouldn't want to go to the scene well to get the facts but all of the state media summed up my work there as high treason nobody knows what sort of film it will be nobody knows what materials i found but the government's reaction is a kind of attempt at self defense. realizes that many facts exist and that is better for them these are exposed by discredited journalists as a traitor. during this work on the film after his return from south.

for an interview with european human rights activists in geneva. departure there he received hints to the effect that he'd better stay in geneva as long as his large family wanted to stay in georgia who. have problems after my return from so. i don't wish to talk about it because whatever i say may hinder the investigation. i can only say that there were. but i won't say what those threats are because they are humiliating. first investigations appeared on the television channel this channel played a key role in the rose revolution which brought president. to power. georgian people are not. independent. truly independent media outlets. but out of the field they reduce revolution in the

them but two thousand and three. constants to the independent. we couldn't imagine a situation without independent. to made its debut in one thousand nine hundred four as a small studio in a private apartment ten years later it was already a popular modern channel as soon as he came to power he tried to bring its editorial policy under his control. journalists were denied accreditation and there were telephone calls to the channel's executives there were also attempts to buy up stock through figureheads. the media mogul who founded to ceded the channel to the president of his own accord. in two thousand and four when the state was taking its first steps it was assumed that the new system of government was still weak. but gone pro so it was thought the state should be the top priority and

the rest would take care of itself. but as it turned out the aim was to take control of the channel start up and i'm to blame for giving away saying i didn't want to rock the boat but you need to become not only. that boat is still on an even keel but freedom of speech is not. really is the editor of a small district newspaper in the town of gori. it carries reports about corruption among members of the district administration one of their more high profile articles reveals instances of misuse of humanitarian aid to refugees. local authorities don't want to accept the existence of an independent newspaper even though with circulation is a mere five hundred copies. it's not dropped into the building of the local administration yesterday i needed to fishel information on some remittance from gori to tbilisi the guards kicked me downstairs and pushed me against the wall did anyone see that yes indeed later i called the police why is it that i had fallen to

the girl and some of the officials there said it serves me right that's what they said in front of ordinary visitors. first met in two thousand and five when the authorities openly threaten a journalist for the first time someone who lives in a small village eight kilometers from border he goes to work by suburban train once he noticed that he was being fall. under mode they chased me in the streets for two days on the third day as i came down the staircase and surrounded me opus one who is standing right in front of me it's me on my head i don't want another hit or miss here i fell to the ground and covered my head with my. day. that's me again and again my face was covered with blood almost within my body was aching to give notice. despite the injuries some a decided not to give up editorial policy remained unchanged.

cultures that so much are different and there's a huge percentage share power on. what is culture powerful than ideology today with the rise of an emerging economies is the world prone to more clashes. every month we give you the future we help you understand how we'll get there and what tomorrow brings the best in science and technology from across russia and around the world. join us for technology update on our. november two thousand and seven thousands of people hold daily rallies in tbilisi a protest against the policies of the georgian government and president mikheil saakashvili. on november seventh authorities used tear gas and water cannon

against demonstrators. did then independent t.v. channel and maybe as closely followed events for the past week journalists go on the air with the latest reports from the most unexpected places in the condiments of this as you can see behind my back of the civil right now at this very moment the special forces troops head into the same trinity cathedral i'm going to assume this would be the last day of immunities independence special forces troops broke into a mini studios during a live broadcast. by closing the channels you quote all the government is violating the constitution this means that this is a dictatorship regime. into the studio i want to say thank you i hear shots in the control room.

because of problems created by. because our t.v. channel had been shut down after all the media has restored broadcasting my friends and i had remained faithful to our decision. together with joy to get to many of the journalists have left the channel some of them came back to the profession later on to the former music t.v. channel maestro for many years there were no politics on this channel just music videos. founded maestro in one thousand nine hundred four he would never have imagined that in fifteen years he'd be replacing d.j.'s with political commentators . entertainment was a very high standard. maybe. we should do something about. simply couldn't. we wanted a new company to step into to become

a broadcaster. normally a license for so-called political broadcasting is issued within three weeks and they were denied it for nearly six months guests had no right to discuss anything besides films music theater. that's the only word for it. but the sound was provided by radio. people wishing to see our talk shows how to switch on the television radio sets at the same time. maestros ingenuity is the envy of other television stations. only available in some districts of tbilisi and on the internet. its popularity in the country grows with each passing month this media underdog attracts people's attention with its smart and on orthodox techniques. very difficult to live in one room twenty four

hours a day while it filming your every move. is very difficult to. do some hard thinking before alone just projected on this. he's confined to a small studio. caged

. ah. public defender. being threatened. after they refused to extend.

for a time. gave up his journalism career and worked as an assistant public defender. but he couldn't stay away from his chosen profession for long. in the very close relationship after. i supplied him with materials for his investigations. were interesting. didn't. they covered political scandals the. one of. his most sensational films examines the mysterious death of former georgian prime minister. george and he was such.

was the person whose political influence kept limits on the real power of president saakashvili. two thousand and five the prime minister died quite unexpectedly under on clear circumstances. as the georgian government said. inconvenient and suspicious facts that question the official version saying he died of gas poisoning. the case is still relevant the nation has asked questions about the case government has still failed to answer. in his film. collected and explained the many discrepancies in the case he only set out the facts and ask questions without trying to draw conclusions. studio

of the film's release. the intimidation and continued his investigations. the government had forced the journalist to flee the country. swiss authorities to grant him political asylum. says he was among those demonstrating in front of the swiss embassy in tbilisi in support of. holding is a very good illustration of the situation in the country now freedom of speech is being ousted from the country as the poster reads freedom of speech is. the independent media depends on advertising for survival if there's no advertising there's no revenue in this case of publication either each out its existence or shuts down altogether. advertisers are scared i mean local georgian advertisers

and. they will always come under pressure from taxes. if they put about four times months in defiance of. tax inspectors sales. and so on and so forth. the holding company to publish is the georgian times weekly. only because of other activities its top executives really was branded as a kremlin agent a long time ago for his attempts to establish a dialogue with the russian intellectual elite. set up is appropriately called the georgian commission for dialogue when he was on a visit to russia in two thousand and nine he attempted to invite several well known russian journalists to come to georgia. we didn't. we realize as a player but we would have to answer some very tough questions. to at least

establish a direct. georgian counterpart. to find some great truth. of the three journalists invited by mouth. only one was allowed to cross the border maxime shift change and his colleague had to stay in the tbilisi airport an hour before their arrival president mikheil saakashvili had sent special forces to the airport with the aim of detaining the two journalists the troops cordon off the building into positions outside the exit to passport control the conflict was resolved by relatively peaceful means the unwelcome journalists were denied visas and sent back to russia as fast as possible . but. i felt very deeply insulted people here know that a georgian holds guests in high esteem by never been so insulted by. the time will come when the people who. will be punished accordingly. the

second patriarch of georgia expected to meet with the three russian journalists in his residence on the day of their arrival but he saw only one of them say during the meeting the patriarch made it clear that he sincerely regret it the incident. i wish to give gifts. at the airport now. is a move the patriarch of the georgian church is very guarded and statements he made no public comment on the incident at the airport but when he made he showed the shocking program simulating a war between russia and georgia he hardly minced his words and expressing his frustration. we do not welcome such programs this is humiliating to individuals and the nation as a whole there is no other country matches the immorality being spread in georgia we

take first place the. part of the army to join the enemy. this is an insult to our army. there's tremendous guilt people. move through. the program should be made. property is the control. program is one of the signs of that. control intimidation or unemployment. staying in a shelter for refugees in switzerland to complete a. conflict. i'm worried not so much for my own sake as for my family georgian government has shown that they can

kill. his wife and children to receive visas enjoined from abroad he's warned them not to meet with journalists and to keep off the streets as much as possible digits most of the news about his family and his country through close friends. tell me what you want to take care of your immigration problems. visit you . chances are i myself might come back before october if the government changes. the government. well yes why not it's cost. us telling still working on the script of a new film nobody's seen it yet but he's already scared the georgian government back. as an investigative journalist he's confident that someday he will be able to finish his work to take his findings back home to his native country.

in the czech republic she is available in a hotel as science central hotel for a living room most of them will stand by you to which i am a teacher in bosnia and herzegovina available in. me and the children of each. but you know what you know. times. in serbia multi-user very little in the region see. the number of dead and russians heat wave wise's fifty two firefighters step up to battle as wildfires a pro terrorist contaminated by the term noble times. as most of the bodies continue to suffer from small it's already impeding the city's apples for several

flights have already been delayed the full join me ration otieno in just a few seconds. here assume our calls for a nuclear free world visit marks sixty five years since the atomic bomb which destroyed the city and tens of thousands of lives. is being sworn in as bold and snoop resident protests in central polish joining us from warsaw for all the latest details. and worse than expected u.s. jobs data has said stocks tumbling amid mounting concern the global economic growth is slowing we have the details in the business update in twenty minutes time. warm welcome to you live from our headquarters in. central moscow this is r t with

me nice in no way it's six pm here in the russian capital one four pm in warsaw poland first this hour with the summer heat wave now fueling wildfires in twenty two regions across russia the death toll has risen to fifty two more than three and a half thousand people have been left homeless meanwhile the capital is shrouded in dense smoke the worst the city's ever experienced stacie bivins has. the smog is really has come in and has blanketed no matter how healthy you may be doctors it's saying to stay indoors and if you have to many reasons they're urging you to wear a mask it's awful outside and it hurts to breathe this stuff and then once you do you taste it for hours after you've gone inside your home you're also getting reports that in certain areas throughout moscow the air quality is twenty times poorer than usual so this is a very serious situation and this is all going down as firefighters continue to battle blazes throughout the country six.