panic ensued in the city's. hypertonic crisis and breastpin. why spark hysteria instead of showing real news who is behind the story to put the whole country in a panic who's to blame for the intimidation of journalists and one of the means of minimizing opposition in the georgian media. the small village of 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. my mother and grandmother

watching from there. i woke up because mother was screaming about the start of the war. when i saw 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 they arrived he was already dead. the ambulance came just fifteen minutes after being called the cause of death according to doctors. induced by a programme on the t.v. channel. involving georgian political analysts and journalists and eight pm 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 we don't know if it's going to be recorded all written but it's been reported that the russian troops deployed have been put on combat. descriptives something straight out of a hollywood action flick the russian tanks approach tbilisi the president's life is in danger meanwhile opposition leaders go to moscow to meet members of the russian government of the film bush and. russian agents without mincing words according to the authors of the program the moscow talks are about regime change and dividing georgian territory. you may be certain about that by eight thirty an outraged in front of the building housing the television company.

it's true that. changes. why haven't they detained the people featured in the script i'm 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 provocator god someone of. the russian agent agent. the most common epithets for those who disagree with the policies of the georgian government that it's any. journalist. investigations. long before. he was the kind of journalist uncomfortable questions regardless of who held the country's reins. problems cropped up and came to a head after the so-called revolution. there

is almost no free press these days. that. the current. situation couldn't have been imagined. his last investigation was an attempt to discover real facts concerning the two thousand and eight georgian flicked. capital of south. this is interview with a human rights campaigner. she recounts events of august seventh two thousand and eight nobody seen it besides himself but georgia state controlled media didn't need to declare it a provocation on august the seventh georgia's president mikheil saakashvili to bring it to in any form and. he addressed the people of self to say. to say he had

a unilateral cease fire. he said. to any provocation. and he is sure to say they could go to bed in peace spots but. i on the night of august the eight large caliber guns fired on scene vall from the georgian side. the military operation second surely 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 if there was a deafening noise everything was shaking. and no women in the streets who is thirty minute crying. was as if we had plunged into hell after the will cain explosion of. the independent journalists work in

a city it was seen by many in georgia as a betrayal of his country. i know of no journalist i wouldn't want to go to. to get the facts but all 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 have that the government's reaction is a kind of attempt at self-defense realizes that many facts exist and that it's better for them these are exposed by a discredits a journalist branded as a traitor. during his work on the film after his return from south a said. grace means for an interview with european human rights activists in geneva before his 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. had lots of problems after

my return from sin well. i don't wish to talk about them no because whatever i say may hinder the investigation so i can. i only say that there were open threads 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 mikhail saakashvili 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. to their independence. we couldn't imagine a situation without independent. stovey 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 they were telephone calls to the channels executives there were also attempts to buy up stock through figureheads. the media mogul who founded to seed 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. 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 channels i'm to blame for giving away so i didn't want to rock the boat. 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. curious reports about corruption among members of the district's administration one of them. 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 it's circulation is a mere five hundred copies. it's now been dropped into the building of the local administration and 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. that i had fallen to the girl and some of the officials there said it served 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 you notice that he was before. they chased me in the streets for two days on the third day as i came down the staircase and surrounded me. one who was standing right in front of me it's me. another hit. i fell to the ground and covered my head with my. they had to me again and again my face was covered with blood and my body was aching to give notice. despite the injuries somebody decided not to give up editorial policy remained unchanged.

we understand. the best in science and technology from across russia and around the world. on our. november two thousand and seven people daily rallies in tbilisi a protest against the policies of the georgian government and president mikhail saakashvili. are seventh authorities used tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators. 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 condiments just as you can see behind my back right now at this very moment the special forces troops head into the same community cathedral i'm going to assume this would be the last day of independence special forces troops broke into a mini studios during a live broadcast. by closing the channel the government is violating the constitution this means that this is a dictatorship regime. are coming into the studio i want to say thank you i hear shots in the control room. are employees will be injured here are guests. that's what i did if journalism because of problems created by saakashvili 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 withdraw to to get. 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 . have a very high standard. maybe. we should do something about. simply couldn't. we wanted a new company to step in. 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 on our guests had no right to discuss anything besides films music and theater. 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 in an orthodox techniques. very difficult to live in one room twenty four hours a day filming your every move. is very different. to some hard thinking

project.

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. very close relationship. with materials for his investigations. interesting. political scandals. one of. his most sensational films examines the mysterious death of former 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. under. the georgian government said. it inconvenient and suspicious facts that question the official version saying he died of gas poisoning. the case is still relevant. questions about the. government has still failed. in his film. collected and explained the many discrepancies in the case he set out the facts and ask questions without trying to draw conclusions.

of the. nation and continued his investigation. 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 with the 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 there's no advertising there's no revenue in this case a 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 up advertisements in defiance of. tax inspector sales. and so on and so forth. the holding company publishes 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. he set up is appropriately called the russo 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 go. we were we realize as a player. some very tough questions. to at least establish a direct and in. georgian counterparts. 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 cordoned off the building and took up 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 in high esteem by never been so insulted by. the time will come when the people who. will be punished accordingly. a

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 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. is no other country matches the. spread in georgia we take first

place they are. part of the army to join the enemy. this is an insult to our army. tremendous guilt people. to move through. the program should be made. property is the control. program is one of the signs of. control intimidation or unemployment. staying in a shelter for refugees in switzerland he's unable to complete his film about the georgian conflict and. 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 he gets most of the news about his family and his country through close friends. tell who are they take care of here immigration problems. visit you in october. 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 seen it yet but he's already scared the georgian government back . as an investigative journalist he's confident that some day he will be able to finish his work to take his findings back home to his native country.

moscow covered in smoke with hundreds of wildfires still wreaking havoc across russia emergency services stepped up their efforts working around the clock. mixed emotions and so the set yes there are public marks two years since the georgian assault while the country rebuilds and moves on some people are still scarred by the memories of war. and so long to leave hello police president dmitri medvedev proposing a name change for russia's law enforcement does part of a major overhaul aimed at rooting out corruption.

six am here in moscow thanks for being with us here on r t our top story russia is struggling to extinguish hundreds of wildfires raging around the country dozens of flights have been grounded in moscow or diverted due to a dense layer of thick smog people in the streets are wearing masks to protect themselves from the pollution which is the worst on record or he's got a cheeky on has more from the moscow region. moscow is covered with a thick blanket of toxic acrid small going to this very small village just outside the city caught fire a few days ago and its residents as well as some three hundred others in the moscow region have lost their homes in the city itself millions are now choking in the smoke which is carrying some very harmful gases like carbon monoxide its consistency in the air exceeds the norm we've seen. you see we use handkerchiefs or to uncover all noses there's new all the way. there's just who god is mercy and

sends us rain i mean with which i queue to read it we're really shocked water should be given out people can't breathe their eyes are itching. and that's exactly why we're wearing masks like this because it's literally hard to breathe the air makes you feel nauseous russia is no doubt suffering from its worst heat wave on record the heat wave sparked forest and peat fires across central and western regions fires have killed at least fifty people in the past week the temperatures for we have soared as high as thirty eight to forty degrees degrees celsius in moscow where usually the average summer temperature is twenty three degrees there are still around eighty big fires burning in the country there are hundreds of them but a really big one we really really significant ones and the worst of them are pete fires there are forty of them still burning and most in the moscow region they're very hard to extinguish.