A sexual harassment survivor has been targeted by a pro-government media outlet after several more women accused its prominent founder of abuse.

Tatia Samkharadze, a journalist who had won a sexual harassment claim against PosTV's Shalva Ramishvili, wrote of the alleged predatory activities of her abuser in a March 20 social media post. Soon after, more women came forward to accuse him of various forms of sexual harassment. 

In response, Ramishvili’s channel launched a campaign against Samkharadze, accusing her of conspiring with the opposition to smear him and sending TV crews -- and police -- to stalk her.

"This is a man who would lure young girls with job offers at his TV station, close the office door, and try to satisfy his dirty fantasies," journalist Tatia Samkharadze wrote on Facebook on March 20. 

In 2018, Samkharadze won a sexual harassment claim in court against Ramishvili, who unsuccessfully appealed and had to pay a fine of 2,000 GEL (about $780). Ramishvili, however, managed to retain his influence, remain in public life, and become one of the most prominent figures in shaping and purveying pro-government propaganda. 

The role of the channel, which he co-founded in 2017, became particularly prominent following the recent failure of the ruling Georgian Dream party to adopt bills that would have stigmatized Western-funded NGOs and media outlets as "foreign agents." The authorities hinted then that they would seek to discredit their critics through other, non-legislative, means.

Following Samkharadze’s post, at least seven women have alleged in separate statements that they experienced various forms of sexual harassment and pressure from Shalva Ramishvili.

The recollections, among others, include sexually intimidating environments with unwanted advances during job interviews or professional meetings. Ramishvili allegedly openly communicated his sexual fantasies to women who sought employment at his channel and used his position of power to exert psychological pressure on women by reducing their careers to their bodies and sex appeal. 

Some of the accusers shared screenshots from chats where Ramishvili allegedly further pursued the women. Formula TV also aired excerpts from an audio recording made by one of the women, Anania Gachechiladze. 

That recording, from what was purported to be a professional meeting with Ramishvili in 2018, appears to feature the media personality exerting verbal sexual pressure and initiating physical contact with Gachechiladze while the latter objects. 

As allegations mounted, the ruling Georgian Dream party rushed to defend their media ally.

"To me, it is not credible that a person can go for seven years without saying anything and now they remember it against the backdrop of this against this fascist campaign," Georgian Dream faction head Mamuka Mdinaradze told reporters. 

"Fascism" and "liberal fascism" have become the epithets of choice in recent ruling party attacks against their critics, particularly after protests led them to kill the stigmatizing "foreign agent" bills. In recent years, campaigns discrediting government critics, including through trolls and traditional media outlets, have intensified. 

Now, these tactics have been deployed against Samkharadze, the court-recognized harassment survivor whom pro-government media have sought to portray as having conspired with the political opposition to smear Ramishvili.

The campaign culminated on the night of March 24-25 when a PosTV crew made a report to police claiming that she had been "abducted" by Dimitri Chikovani, a member of the opposition United National Movement party and a close relative of Davit Kezerashvili, a wealthy former Georgian defense minister now allegedly financing the political opposition from abroad. 

The channel cited a "source" that reported a conflict between the two over "money" that Chikovani allegedly owed Samkharadze for the "deliberate defamatory campaign" against Ramishvili.

The report led to police being deployed to Chikovani's apartment while the PosTV crew -- together with other reporters -- was waiting at his doorstep. Pro-government media went on to quote police as saying that Samkharadze was hiding in a closet.

Samkharadze, however, was not seen in the report and denied the allegations on social media. And as PosTV journalists continued to patrol the area around Chikovani's apartment the next day and claim she was inside, Samkharadze posted a video on her Facebook page showing she was safe at her own apartment. 

This, again, was not the end of the story: On March 27, Samkharadze raised the alarm that the channel's journalists were now stalking her outside her own apartment. In a Facebook post she pleaded for President Salome Zourabichvili to help. 

"Help me, they turned ruining me into a reality show," she wrote.

Soon afterward, the figurehead president held a briefing to condemn the situation and criticize the government's stance.

"The government does not distance itself from violence even verbally -- on the contrary, it encourages the abuser and in so doing abuses the victim again. For shame!" Zourabichvili said.

Samkharadze's cry for help attracted broader attention, with several female opposition MPs personally showing up at her apartment to show solidarity. 

The Ombudsperson's Office made a statement criticizing the politicians and individuals who "show support for the alleged harasser while directing aggression towards alleged victims." The statement also called on media agencies to respect the constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy.

Others called on the police to launch investigations into PosTV crews' possible offenses of stalking and making false police reports. On March 28, Chikovani said he was suing PosTV and its reporter Natia Beridze for making a false report.