Papuna Ugrekhelidze, head of the National Agency of Public Registry of the Ministry of Justice, has resigned amid harassment allegations by a former employee.   

Reports on the alleged harassment emerged on March 24, with Ekaterine Meskhidze, a former employee of the Public Registry Agency, accusing Papuna Ugrekhelidze of regular insults, humiliation and pressure. 

According to the Rustavi 2 TV report, the case was studied by the Public Defender last May. Ketevan Shubashvili of the Public Defender’s office confirmed to the journalist that the conclusion “established” the fact of sexual harassment by Ugrekhelidze. 

Meskhidze told Rustavi 2 she submitted the conclusion to her former colleagues, as well as Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani, but the Minister, according to her account, criticized her for disseminating the document and downplayed the fact as “simple verbal harassment.” Later, Minister Tsulukiani told the journalists she would meet Papuna Ugrekhelidze personally, and ask him some “uncomfortable questions.”

Ugrekhelidze responded to the allegations today, saying this was “a revenge” against him, and that the accusations emerged only after the alleged victim’s husband, also an employee of the Public Registry, was dismissed for disciplinary offence.*
   
“In order to protect my dignity and what is most important, to protect my family and the employees of the Public Registry, the Justice Ministry, and personally, the Minister (implying Tea Tsulukiani), against the ongoing dirty campaign, I filed for resignation before the Justice Minister yesterday,” Ugrekhelidze wrote in his Facebook post today.

This is the second high-profile resignation over harassment allegations in the last two weeks. Zviad Devdariani, a prominent civic activist and the head of the Rustavi-based Civil Development Agency, resigned on March 22 following sexual harassment allegations by multiple women.

* Papuna Ugrekhelidze was the first to disclose Ekaterine Meskhidze’s identity. Previously, media outlets reported on the matter without specifying the alleged victim’s name.