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I have no idea what the internet is – scavenging pensioner facing prison over cable cut
April 11, 2011 – 10:40AM – brisbane times
Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Zurab Gvenetadze said she had been charged with property destruction, which carries a sentence of up to three years in jail, but it was probable she would get a lighter sentence because of her age.
Shakarian, a Georgian of Armenian origin, told AFP that she was just a “poor old woman” who was not capable of committing such a crime.
“I did not cut this cable. Physically, I could not do it,” she said, repeatedly bursting into tears as she spoke.
Shakarian, who lives in the poverty-stricken Georgian village of Armazi, about 15 kilometres from the capital Tbilisi, said that she had only been collecting firewood. ”I have no idea what the internet is,” she added.
The incident on March 28 provoked lengthy debates on global internet discussion forums after it was widely publicised last week.
About 800 people posted comments about the case on the Engadget technology website, some arguing that the authorities should show leniency because of Shakarian’s age and her impoverished situation.
The company that owns the fibre-optic cable, Georgian Railway Telecom, said that the damage was serious, causing 90 per cent of private and corporate internet users in neighbouring Armenia to lose access for nearly 12 hours while also hitting Georgian internet service providers.
But although Georgian Railway Telecom insists that the 600-kilometre cable has “robust protection”, this was not the first time that it has been damaged.
Many Georgians’ internet connections were also cut off briefly in 2009 by another scavenger who hacked into the cable while hunting for scrap metal to sell.
In Armenia, a spokeswoman for the country’s largest internet service-provider Armentel, Anush Begloyan, said: “The incident forces our company to think about diversifying our channels.” Her son, Sergo Shakarian, said: “My mother is innocent. She is crying all the time. She is so scared.”
The Georgian interior ministry said that, despite her claims to innocence, Shakarian had already confessed to cutting the cable.
Apr 11, 2011 @ 18:51:46
What a world we live in mate ;( i am fairly keen on the internet myself but really! she should do a book deal and get some money. I fear we sadly forgot just how poor people are in other countrys/cultures, she seems an unlikely internet terror wrecking lady to me.
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Apr 11, 2011 @ 19:02:29
wow, poor yes, guilty don’t know, but how could an elderly lady simply cut a cable bundle, it must have been more than a simple snip .. she badly needed the money from nasty deed ..
Apr 11, 2011 @ 18:55:52
If you’re going to have your internet tubes running through the woods at least hang it up in the trees so old ladies can’t reach them. You know old ladies like to cut things.
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Apr 11, 2011 @ 19:03:22
old ladies and silly male gardeners ..
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Apr 11, 2011 @ 18:58:54
wow that poor lady. I am sure her intent that morning was not ” oh damn I don’t have a computer so let me screw everyone who does by cutting the lines!” Oh brother I wonder what they are going to do to her, it not like she has anything.
xoxo
Jessica
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Apr 11, 2011 @ 19:04:44
yes jessica – there are many sides to this story, the first should be, how the hell did she do it and what did she do it with .. ?
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Apr 11, 2011 @ 19:02:54
What type of company just lays their cables through the woodlands – surely there’s some kind of health and safety that should prevent it or even trespassing over public land. Could you imagine it if BT suddenly just draped their cables across the fields. Poor woman – she should counter sue – just say she got an electric shock.
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Apr 11, 2011 @ 19:05:55
she got a shock when she got caught .. silly business all round me thinks .. cheers sj
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Apr 11, 2011 @ 19:10:25
That’s one hell of a saw she has.
A
twitter: tbaootweets
Apr 12, 2011 @ 06:43:26
i seen it ..
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Apr 11, 2011 @ 22:37:18
Poor old lady…I agree with some of the others, she should be showed leniency!
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Apr 12, 2011 @ 06:44:33
the rack and fed on bread and water, oh hang on that’s how she lives now !! ..
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Apr 12, 2011 @ 01:04:20
I think everyone should chip in and buy her a brand new, top of the line computer. That way she could learn all about the Internet, and sever cables on purpose instead out of ignorance. Wonder if they have electricity in her village, not to mention DSL.
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Apr 12, 2011 @ 06:45:17
they might not even have table to put it on ..
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Apr 13, 2011 @ 10:15:14
Pity really! They should thank her for showing them a weak link in their operations…
Eliz
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Apr 15, 2011 @ 01:48:13
They just need to fix it and go on. I mean really, think about it…have you ever seen the intensity of cable? She’d have been there awhile sawing:)
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