On March 26, the Tbilisi City Court ruled unlawful the dismissal of Natela Mumladze from the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation under the Culture Ministry, the Social Justice Center, a local watchdog which defended the plaintiff’s interests in court, reported on March 27.

According to the watchdog, Mumladze was one of the employees who were dismissed as a result of reorganization in the Culture Ministry announced following Tea Tsulukiani’s appointment as the Minister of Culture.

“According to our assessment, the real goal of the said reorganization, instead of structural changes and optimization, was to get rid of unwanted personnel and it was used for the mass dismissal of employees,” the watchdog said.

The court also ordered the defendant to provide the plaintiff with compensation and back pay equivalent to her salary from the date of dismissal until the execution of the court’s decision.

Earlier on March 19, following the deliberation by all three instances of the court, the Tbilisi City Court’s decision regarding the case of another dismissed employee Dinara Vachnadze was finally enforced, according to the Social Justice Center. The court had ruled that her dismissal from the National Museum of Georgia was unlawful, and had ordered the Museum to pay Vachnadze compensation and backpay.

Tea Tsulukiani, since her appointment as Minister of Culture, has been frequently accused of persecuting freedom of expression and of politically motivated dismissals in the agencies under her authority.

Similar allegations were made during Tsulukiani’s tenure as Minister of Justice. According to Transparency International Georgia’s February 2022 data, during her tenure as Minister of Justice, the budget lost GEL 332,172 due to compensations “for illegal dismissals” of employees.

• 24/02/2023 – Another Dismissed Employee Wins Dispute with Ministry of Culture
• 09/11/2022 – Another Dismissed National Museum Employee Claims Victory in Court