Sezoni TV anchor, Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, stated on his programme that an Arab company plans to build three large mosques in the village of Kvemo Chala in the Kaspi municipality and the Gori district court “gave them the green light.”
Other pro-Russian forces also contributed to the dissemination of disinformation in the village of Kvemo Chala in regard to this issue. They were trying to convince the population that the government sold village land to Arab investors and an eastern-type settlement will be built there. The members of the Conservative Movement were also actively involved in promoting this disinformation in Kvemo Chala and encouraged locals to organise protests.
Members of the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia, led by Vazha Otarashvili, also helped local residents collect signatures and go to the court. They demanded the cancellation of the privatisation act. However, Judge Davit Papuashvili did not grant their request and recognised it as groundless.
However, dissemination of disinformation on this issue continued even after the court's decision. For instance, Sezoni TV claimed that "enemies of Georgia" would soon settle in the Kaspi municipality and "strip the country of its Georgianness." There were other versions about the territory having been sold by auction. According to one of these versions, the purchase of real estate near the occupation line is safe for Russian businessmen and, therefore, they may be behind the construction.
In fact, this issue is about a 1,262 square meter land plot in the village of Kvemo Chala located in the Kaspi municipality which was purchased by a Georgian national, Inga Kurtanidze, and her foreign partner via auction on 22 November 2021. For the development of non-agricultural land, they appealed to the Kaspi Municipality City Hall which requested information from the new owners of their vision and concept for developing the land. In particular, the Kaspi municipality was going to draw up urban planning documents which should also include plans for the land plot in Kvemo Chala.
According to the clarification of the new land owners, they are not going to erect any buildings or do other construction on the territory. Their aim is to build only one residential house for the needs of their families.
This notwithstanding, Kaspi Municipality City Hall has not issued any type of construction permit to the aforementioned individuals.
Another piece of disinformation that was disseminated in the village was that Kaspi City Hall will build a road with budget money for the foreign investors in order to facilitate their construction work.
The court decision illustrates that Kaspi Municipality City Hall will consider drafting a spatial and urban development plan in the near future. According to the explanation of the municipality, the interest of foreign and local companies vis-à-vis the municipality in terms of the implementation of industrial, touristic and social programs has increased recently.
Of additional note is that due to the change enacted in the Clean Water Supply and Consumption Rules," it is forbidden to connect a new facility to the water supply system before the system in the Kaspi municipality is installed.
Based on the information provided by the Kaspi Municipality, it is evident that the court ordered Kaspi City Hall to grant permission for the construction of one individual residential house to the landowners; however, Kaspi City Hall has not yet implemented the court order due to the fact that the decision is subject to appeal in the court of appeals.
According to the information provided to FactCheck, Kaspi City Hall has not issued any permit about building a settlement or any type of prayer facility thus far.
These facts illustrate that pro-Russian groups, including the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia, the Conservative Movement and the anchor of Sezoni TV, Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, are spreading false information among society.
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