On May 30, 2025, a meeting of the Public Broadcaster’s Board of Trustees was held. The board made amendments to the regulations document of the Public Broadcaster’s Board of Trustees.
According to the changes, attendance at public meetings of the Public Broadcaster’s Board of Trustees will now only be possible online. Anyone wishing to attend must send a request via email no later than two days before the meeting, following the publication of the meeting agenda. The amendments also define the procedures for attending and participating in the meeting process. These changes will come into effect on June 1, 2025.
Under the previous version of the Public Broadcaster’s Board of Trustees regulations, any interested person could attend the public meetings in person with prior notice.
On May 31, 2025, Khatia Gogoberidze, editor-in-chief of the news agency April, posted on the social media platform Facebook that she had been fined 5,000 GEL for “artificially blocking the road” while performing her professional duties.
According to the journalist, the Ministry of Internal Affairs contacted her on April 4 to inform her of the fine. After Gogoberidze explained to the police that she was engaged in journalistic activity during the march and even provided the materials she had prepared about the event, the police requested time to review the matter. Despite her explanations and the evidence submitted, the journalist was still issued a formal notice of the fine.
Khatia Gogoberidze plans to pursue legal action against the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
On May 22, 2025, a court hearing for politician Zurab “Girchi” Japaridze was held at Tbilisi City Court. The case has drawn significant public attention, and with it, strong interest from the media. Nevertheless, correspondents who arrived to cover the hearing and were carrying photo or video cameras were not allowed inside the court building. According to the journalists, the rules for entering the building had been changed without any prior notice.
Security personnel at the Tbilisi City Court did not provide an explanation for why the journalists were denied entry. Instead, they referred media representatives to the court’s press office, which did not respond to phone calls.
The issue of media representatives being denied access to court hearings and other public institutions appears to be becoming a recurring trend.
According to the online outlet Publika, media representatives carrying photo and/or video cameras are still being denied entry to the Tbilisi City Court building.
Under the Law of Georgia on General Court and previous practice, journalists without a judge’s permission to record court sessions were still allowed to film freely in the hallways of the court building.
However, on May 22, 2025, when reporters arrived to cover the trial of politician Zurab “Girchi” Japaridze, they found that this practice had changed and were denied entry. The Tbilisi City Court administration has not explained the reason for this change—either beforehand or afterward.
Mariami Kavshbaya, a journalist for the online media outlet “Publika,” was fined twice, totaling 10,000 lari, for “artificially blocking the road.” The administrative offense report against her was issued by the police on February 3, 2025. The Ministry of Internal Affairs accused her of “artificially blocking the road” while performing her professional duties on that day. Kavshbaya presented evidence to the court, including photos taken on that day and materials published on Publika’s Facebook page. In addition, she informed CMIS that even the video provided by the Ministry shows that she was working at the time of the fine. Despite this, the court upheld the fine and ordered her to pay 5,000 lari, which she did. The second fine was imposed for “blocking the road” during a protest on March 14. Kavshbaya appealed this fine, but the court has not yet scheduled a hearing.
On May 14, 2025, a “yellow level” security alert was declared at the Georgian Parliament building, resulting in restricted access for most media outlets. Only accredited television broadcasters were permitted to enter, and even they were limited to no more than two crews per outlet.
The restrictions were introduced on the same day when the Speaker of Parliament Shalva Papuashvili was scheduled to present his annual report and outline the strategic plan for the coming year.
This measure was implemented under the Speaker’s directive (Order No. N1/259/23) issued on September 4, 2023, titled “On the Approval of Security Rules at the Palace of the Parliament of Georgia.” According to the statement, the purpose of the “yellow level” alert was to “ensure a safe and secure working environment at the Parliament.”Since the issuance of this order, non-accredited media have faced repeated restrictions on their ability to operate within the Parliament.
On May 7, 2025, a judges’ conference was held in Tbilisi, where, apart from the Public Broadcaster’s “First Channel,” no media representatives were allowed access. According to TV Pirveli, journalist Mariam Gaprindashvili and her cameraman were even prevented from entering the courtyard.
Mariam Gaprindashvili stated that journalists were not given the opportunity to ask judges any questions, as most of the judges were accompanied by security and avoided the main entrance—entering the building instead through the basement or the kitchen area.
Judges, like Georgian Dream, do not allow independent media to attend public meetings.
On May 5, 2025, employees of the Georgian Public Broadcaster’s program “Real Space” announced that the show had been officially canceled by the broadcaster’s decision.
Information about the closure was provided to the journalists in writing on April 30 by the management of the Public Broadcaster. The letter stated:
“Considering that on April 11, 2025, the employment relationship with the show’s host and face, Nino Zautashvili, was terminated, the continuation of the program is no longer planned.”
The statement was made by the “Real Space” team during a protest held in front of the Public Broadcaster’s building.
The Media Advocacy Coalition harshly criticized the Public Broadcaster’s decision:
“The Media Advocacy Coalition strongly condemns the leadership of the Public Broadcaster for shutting down the program ‘Real Space’, which has a 12-year history, for unlawfully dismissing its host Nino Zautashvili, intimidating journalists, and creating an inappropriate work environment. This decision constitutes a deliberate act of repression against journalists who openly criticized the broadcaster’s biased editorial policy, exposed political influence within the broadcaster, and revealed propaganda in favor of the ‘Georgian Dream’ party,” — the Coalition’s statement reads.The broadcaster’s management targeted Nino Zautashvili and her team due to their critical stance. According to them, on March 21, 2025, the Public Broadcaster’s Board of Trustees even threatened Zautashvili with the Prosecutor’s Office.
On May 8, 2025, the media was not allowed into a public session at the Samtskhe-Javakheti State Administration, where the new governor was being introduced. This information was reported by TOK2Region.
Former governor of Samtskhe-Javakheti, Besik Amiranashvili, was replaced by Zaal Gelashvili on May 8.
Closing public hearings to independent media is a general trend, and the ruling party “Georgian Dream” has employed this tactic multiple times in the past.
On May 7, 2025, online media was restricted from covering the “Georgian Dream” congress. The official reason given was the limited number of available seats.
The party’s press office urged media representatives to follow the event via livestream.
At the congress, Irakli Kobakhidze was elected as the new chairman of the “Georgian Dream” party.
