opposition in the georgian media. was. this small village of speedy 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 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. viewers didn't see usually scheduled the 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 bulletin. there in a few minutes president saakashvili is expected to make a special statement on the situation in the country don't know if it's going to be recorded all written but it's been reported that the russian troops deployed

fifteen put on combat. descriptives something straight out of a. action flick. opposition leader. to meet members of the russian government. russian agents without mincing words according to the authors of the program. change and dividing georgian territory. human history. of the building housing the television company. it's true the. changes why haven't they detained the people featured in the script up still saakashvili has to bear in mind that she must produce concrete facts about being otherwise he will demonstrate once again that she's a liar and irresponsible provocator god someone of.

the most common epithets for those who disagree with the policies of the georgian government that it's any. journalist. investigations. came to power he was the kind of journalist asked questions regardless of who held the country's reins. problems cropped up. by the current. situation couldn't. discover real facts concerning the georgian.

cap. of self the said. 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 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 format. but he could he addressed the people of self to say. to say he had all that a unilateral cease fire in a he said she 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 second really referred to as the enforcement of constitutional order in the territory of self the set you had begun. yes i woke up 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 that will cain explosion with. 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 ten wall 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

found that the government's reaction is a kind of attempt at self defense. many facts exist. for them these are exposed by a discredited journalist as a traitor. during this work on the film after his return from south to. 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 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 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 and the aim was to take control of the channel start up i'm to blame for giving away so 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. incurious 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 its 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. they chased me in the streets for two days on the third day as i came down the staircase and surrounded me up a shell one who was standing right in front of me it's me on my head on another

hill. i fell to the ground and covered my head with my hand. that's me again and again but while my face was covered with blood almost within my body was aching to give notice. despite the injuries somebody decided not to give up editorial policy remained unchanged. in vietnam multis available in the international hotel know what you know how

knowing how to person photo. into continental hanoi westlake oto shirts in hanoi hilton head of the oprah somerset grand totally sedona suite tunnelling. book royal saigon hotel caravel hotel sheraton so i go in hotel in time hotel so i go in the. available in poland resort and spa. nov two thousand and seven thousands of people hold daily rallies in tbilisi they protest against the policies of the georgian government and president mikhail saakashvili. on november 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 and an image of just as you can see behind my back of this is right now at this very moment the

special forces troops head into the same trinity cathedral and then in the us own them. this would be the last day of independence special forces troops. studios during a live broadcast. closing the. situation 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. our t.v. channel had been shut down after all. my friends a. decision. together with. many of the journalists have

left the channel some of them came back to the profession to the former music t.v. channel. 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. we should do something about. to step into. the. normally a license for so-called political broadcasting is issued within three weeks but they were denied it for nearly six months. to discuss anything besides films music

theater. this. sound was provided by radio. people wishing to see our talk shows how to switch on the television radio sets at the same time. the envy of other television stations. is 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 difficult. to some hard thinking project.

he's confined to a small studio. and. we . were focused on. the visit. to the stadium where he played a concert. ah.

in the. public defender of georgia parliament elected human rights. in that role he submitted many. being threatened. to the parliament for review. after they refused to extend. parliament. 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 died quite unexpectedly under 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. questions about the. government has still failed to answer. 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. intimidation and continued his investigations. at last the government had forced the journalist to flee the country telling us

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 the freedom of speech is being ousted from the country as the poster reads freedom of speech is. independent media depends on advertising for survival if 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 georgia not for. they will always come under pressure from taxes. if they put up advertisements in defiance of. tax inspectors sales clothes 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. 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. we realize that. some very tough questions. to at least establish a direct woman in a night so i dawdled with 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. india 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 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 in his 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. country matches the immorality spread in georgia we take first place the. part of the army to join the enemy. this is an insult to our army. tremendous guilt people.

move. freely who decided that the program should be made. property is their control. program is one of the signs of that. control intimidation or unemployment. case in point 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 me what you want to take care of your 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'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.

every month we give you the future we help you understand how to get there and i want to bring the best in science and technology from across russia and around the world to join us for its knology update on our g.

fires continue to rage across russia killing dozens and thousands of people leaving whole cities struggling to breathe through toxic small. remembers the hundreds killed in the war with georgia two years after tbilisi shelled the republic leaving its capital razed to the ground. also japan sixty five years since an atomic bomb was dropped on hiroshima for the first time since that deadly event washington sent an envoy to the memorial service but still offers no apology.

with the top stories of the week and all of today this is our seed live from moscow . a huge blanket of suffocating toxic smog from wildfires is poisoning millions as it clings to central russia highly polluted air is causing throats to sting police are escaping from moscow and affected areas for a chance to breathe some fresh air but it's not been easy getting away the haze has also been disrupting flights at airports where while visibility rather on the roads has been close to zero you got a pretty good office at the epicenter of the crisis the burning bogs in the moscow region it's very hard to breathe in fact the ecological situation is still critical the small is very thick and visibility is poor and as soon as i'm done with the report i'm going to put on this mask the only way to feel at least a little bit comfortable since this the small and pollution is also worsened by the heat which is now increasing as the day goes on to say that it's not expected. that

this small will dissolve in the very near future they say that it may only start dissolving by sometime in the middle of next week and doctors say that breathing this is there for just a few hours is equal to smoking a few packs of cigarettes that's why they strongly advise people to stay inside their homes in the affected areas shut all the windows and drink as much water as possible wear masks and take several showers a day this these conditions are of course even more difficult for people with cords and long and of course this whole situation is caused by the hundreds of fires clearly we do across russia seventeen regions have been affected some of them including moscow region have announced a state of emergency and according to the latest official figures there are currently over five hundred and fifty rejean fires and several thousand firefighters and volunteer.