The Jail Cell May Be Fake, but the Impact Is Real

Giorgi Gachechiladze, a Georgian singer, in a mock jail cell on the set of his television program, "Cell No. 5," a political satire that is broadcast on an opposition television station.

By CLIFFORD J. LEVY
NYT

TBILISI, Georgia — The new star of the opposition to President Mikheil Saakashvili is locked away in a jail cell, where he rants against the government, scribbles slogans all over the walls (“Saakashvili betrayed us!”) and banters with politicians who come, like penitents, to seek forgiveness for having once backed the president.

And video cameras are taking in every minute of it.

The jail cell is a fake, the set for a television program that seems to be riveting Georgia’s capital, a blend of cable news outragefest and did-he-really-just-do-that reality show that is running for several hours a day on an opposition station.

The program, “Cell No. 5,” is turning its host, Giorgi Gachechiladze, into an influential opposition figure, though one seen solely on screen. He has vowed not to leave his cell until Mr. Saakashvili resigns.

(More here.)