On January 10, 2017, Deputy Public Defender Natia Katsitadze and other representatives of the Public Defender’s Office arrived in the village of Duisi in the Pankisi Gorge, where they met with representatives of the Salafi community and the Council of Elders. They also attended a discussion held in the office of the Pankisi community radio WAY and the theme of the discussion was "Independent actors’ role and challenges in the Pankisi Gorge".

During the meeting with the local Salafi community and the Council of Elders, representatives of the Public Defender’s Office received information about the general situation in the Pankisi Gorge, efforts of the non-governmental organizations in the Gorge, participation of these organizations in the public life and decision-making processes and their future plans, as well as the interests of the youth. Other topics of discussion were the criticism expressed against the Salafi community and their visions about this issue.

Another major topic of discussion was the activities of the non-governmental organizations, as well as the community radio, and their participation in the Pankisi social life; they also talked about the fact of setting fire to the Kakheti Regional Development Fund office and the alleged motives for the incident.

The Public Defender believes that the state is obliged to promptly and thoroughly investigate the 3 January incident, which took place in Pankisi, when some strangers set fire to the House of Culture, where the non-governmental organization Kakheti Regional Development Fund is located. The results of the investigation should not leave questions in the society, while making allegations against any groups would not be justified until the end of the investigation; the presumption of innocence must be respected and all sides should wait for the results of the investigation.

The Public Defender considers it is very important that the safe and peaceful working environment be ensured for the non-governmental and media organizations working in the Pankisi Gorge.