On June 21, 2025, a court hearing was held at Tbilisi City Court in the case of activist Nino Datashvili, related to a criminal investigation stemming from an incident that took place at the court building on May 9 of this year.
Judge Eka Barbakadze prohibited photo and audio recording during the session without providing any explanation or justification. Only video cameras were allowed to be present in the courtroom.
“At the start of the hearing, Barbakadze said she had received media requests for permission to record video, take photos, and make audio recordings, but she only granted permission for video recording and gave no explanation for denying photo and audio access,” reported the news outlet Publika.
This is not the first instance of media restrictions in courtrooms. Just a few days earlier, Tbilisi City Court Judge Giorgi Arevadze also did not allow the media to operate freely.
