"The main thing there was to be obedient. Employees of the local security committee from all republics came to their prisoners and talked some nonsense [to change their minds]. It doesn't matter if you work for human rights, whether you are free or in prison, you have to work from both sides. There were people who did not participate in the actions and there were people who participated. By actions, I mean that, for example, on December 10, the day of protection of human rights, we announced a hunger strike. By the way, good food was coming that day and it was recorded. Some prisoners were eating and did not join this action, the rest of us were starving. There were other demonstrations as well: For example, if one was punished and put in a prison cell, the rest went on hunger strike. I mean, there were people in the camp who thought they had done enough and there were people who continued to protest there too."
"By law, if you were not punished and sent to a camp, you could send two letters a month. But this too was limited and applied only to mother, father, child, sister and brother. The letter was taking too long, so I found such a solution, I would write only two words on the postcards, "I'm alive", "Hello", or something like congratulations and send them. I did this because it took 4-5 months for these letters to arrive. Once I sent a New Year's letter in September. Then they advised me to write it in Russian and it would arrive sooner, but I didn't write it because it was also a lie. [They had to check], so I wrote on postcards."
"I saw the lawyer when the case was over, around the beginning of February. Our trial began on February 14. I saw the lawyer twice. There was one comical situation. Joni Lashkarashvili (Georgian disident) and I were in separate cells, but when we were informed that the lawyer had to come, they put us together. The lawyers of both were there and were not aware of the case at all. Right in front of us when they started reading the case, Joni's lawyer said that there was no need for a trial and we should be shot on the spot. He said this seriously... He was an elderly man, then the profession of lawyer was not prestigious and these people were already retired judges and prosecutors. This man had lived through Stalin's period and was genuinely angry, he really thought that we deserved to be shot. We applauded..."
"The National Liberation Organization of Georgia was already created and I got there through one of my acquaintances. He was not close to me, but in the end he became my friend. As it turned out later, we had such a rule - if we recommended a person to join the organization, we had to test him in all situations, including drunkenness, and if he met the criteria, then we would accept him. If the person was refused, then we would tell him that it was a joke not a test. In my case, the following happened: my older friend started frequent contact with me, he liked my thoughts. Then he actually invited me for a drink several times. At first I was surprised, he had to show me the books, and suddenly he offered me wine, which is a little strange, however, as it turned out, this was the rule. That's how I ended up in this organization"
Tariel Ghviniashvili was born on September 22, 1960 in Tbilisi, Georgia. In the 1980s, he became involved in the anti-Soviet underground movement, for which he was arrested and had to spend several years in a prison in the Ural Mountains.
He studied at the 31st public school in Tbilisi. He doesn‘t remember it himself, although according to his teachers, he first became dissatisfied with the current reality during his school years.
During Andropov‘s rule, he was already involved in underground activism. The underground gatherings soon turned into the distribution of anti-Soviet proclamations. Eventually, one of the new members betrayed the underground organization and more than 40 of its members ended up in prison, including Tariel Ghviniashvili.
Tariel‘s imprisonment was a heavy blow for the family. Due to stress, Niko Ghviniashvili, his father, had a heart attack, his health deteriorated and he died shortly after his son‘s release. Tariel Ghviniashvili immediately continued his dissident activities with the „Ilia Chavchavadze Society“, He directly participated in the events of April 9, 1989 - He printed the opposition newspaper „Iveria“ in Lithuania and brought it to Georgia.
After Georgia’s independence, Tariel Ghviniashvili continued to work with „Ilia Chavchavadze Society“, this time openly and without underground activity. Since 1994, he has been cooperating with the “Memorial” too. The arrival of Eduard Shevardnadze at the head of Georgia was ironic for him, because Shevardnadze was one of the main figures who fought against the dissidents.
