On July 10, 2025, due to the distribution of photos from the courtroom, Judge Nino Galustashvili closed the Lomidze-Zasokhashvili trial and had everyone present, including journalists, leave the courtroom.
On June 26, the “Georgian Dream” parliament adopted amendments to the Organic Law on Common Courts through an expedited procedure. Under the new norms, which came into force immediately upon publication of the law, photo-video recording for media at court sessions was prohibited. As a result of the changes, recording is restricted both inside the courtroom space, as well as in the yard and corridors.
On July 14, 2025, the court hearing of journalist Mazia Amaglobeli, who is being held in unlawful detention, was moved to a small courtroom by Judge Nino Sakhelashvili. According to the online media outlet Batumelebi, the judge made this decision after stating that shouts could be heard from the street in the courtroom “Freedom for Mazia! Freedom for political prisoners!”
According to the online media, a large number of people who wished to attend the hearing were unable to enter, including members of Mazia Amaglobeli’s family, colleagues, and representatives of the diplomatic corps.
The judge also denied the defense’s request for journalist Mazia Amaglobeli to give her testimony from the witness stand. Ultimately, she gave her testimony from a booth enclosed in glass.
For more than six months, Mazia Amaglobeli, founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, journalist, and media manager, has been held in unlawful detention. On July 9, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Georgia, calling for Mazia Amaglobeli’s release. Her release is also being demanded by local and international organizations.
On July 12, 2025, a journalistic investigation aired on the television channel “TV Pirveli”, concerning police officers whom “Georgian Dream” allegedly uses against prisoners of conscience, and the benefits these police officers receive in return. The report covered police officer Bidzina Zhamerashvili, whose father, according to the investigation, had been detained for theft.
To verify the facts, the journalist went to the Asureti Division of the Tetri-Tskaro District Police Department and requested a comment from the head of the division, Koba Sutiashvili. The report shows that the division head expelled the cameraman from the office, while journalist Tamta Dolenjashvili was locked inside the office, after which an attempt was made to confiscate her mobile phone and microphone.
According to Tamta Dolenjashvili:
“My cameraman, Papuna Khachidze, was thrown out of the office, while I was locked inside. My mobile phone was taken from me, and there was an attempt to take the microphone as well. Later, Papuna was also expelled from the building.”
On June 26, 2025, “Georgian Dream” Parliament adopted amendments to the Organic Law on Common Courts in the third reading under an accelerated procedure. The new regulations, which came into force immediately upon publication, prohibit photo and video recording by the media during court hearings. As a result of the changes, recording is also restricted both inside court buildings and in the courtyards and hallways. These amendments fundamentally changed the rules for covering court proceedings. Today, June 30, according to information released by “Publika”, media representatives were not allowed into the Tbilisi City Court with cameras, and filming with phones was also restricted in the courtyard.
Today, the trial of 11 individuals detained on charges of group violence during pro-European protest rallies was taking place at the Tbilisi City Court. Media representatives appealed to the High Council of Justice for permission to record the hearing, but they did not receive a response. Lawyers also addressed the judge regarding the permission to record the hearing. However, according to the judge, since there was no decision presented to the court regarding permission for recording, the hearing would proceed without audio or video recording.
To date, the High Council of Justice has not established a procedure outlining how permission for media coverage of court hearings should be granted. It is known that such coverage is only possible with the Council’s permission, but the form and rules for granting this permission remain unclear. The absence of clear regulations creates a risk of arbitrary practices, which significantly restricts media freedom and the transparency of court proceedings.
On June 18, 2025, Marina Fomaeva, a judge at Batumi City Court, found Mzia Amaglobeili—founder of the outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti—guilty of an administrative offense and fined her 1,000 GEL for posting a protest sticker.
The sticker in question read “Georgia Is Sworn In” and was placed by Amaglobeili on the wall of a police auxiliary building on January 11. Police officers removed the sticker immediately after it was posted.
Amaglobeili had already been fined once for the same sticker. On March 18, 2025, Judge Salikh Shainidze fined her 2,000 GEL for disobeying a lawful police order. Shortly after that, the Ministry of Internal Affairs opened a new administrative case against her for the same incident—this time for “defacing the appearance of a building.” The verdict in that case was delivered on June 18.
Mzia Amaglobeili was arrested twice during the night of January 11–12, 2025. She was first detained for posting the protest sticker but released a few hours later after signing a written statement. However, she was re-arrested shortly after on criminal charges for allegedly slapping Batumi Police Chief Irakli Dgebuadze.
She remains in pretrial detention. Both local and international organizations consider her a political prisoner. Numerous procedural violations have been documented during her court proceedings.
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.
On June 23, 2023, in Tbilisi, poet and activist Zviad Ratiani was arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer. The arrest was witnessed by Nino Kodalashvili, a journalist from the TV company Kavkasia, who filmed the arrest using her personal mobile phone—something law enforcement officers also noticed.
Later, the police attempted to take Nino Kodalashvili to the police station for questioning as a witness and to examine her personal mobile phone. The director of Kavkasia, Nino Jangirashvili, was also present at the scene. She refused to allow the police to take the journalist or access her phone without following the appropriate legal procedures (such as an official notice). According to Jangirashvili, other activists also arrived at the location. As a result of the protest, the police reversed their decision to take the journalist in.
The interaction between the police and the journalists was streamed live on social media.
On June 19, 2025, Tbilisi City Court Judge Giorgi Arevadze hampered media representatives’ work during the trial of a “prisoner of conscience”, Archil Muselianti.
According to journalists, the trial was held in a hall divided by a glass door and window, the voices of the speakers could not reach beyond the dividing wall, which is why media representatives asked the judge to place microphones inside, but the judge did not allow them to do so.
Media representatives left the trial because, according to them, there was no sound in the hall and it was impossible to understand the content of the session.
Recently, the judicial system has significantly restricted the activities of the media in relation to the coverage of court proceedings. Between May 22 and June 19, 2025, four cases (on May 22, 23, 29, and 30)were recorded at the Tbilisi City Court when reporters with photo/video cameras were not allowed into the building. On June 10 and 11, the hearing was completely closed to the media, including those who had the right to film. Also on June 11, Judge Tamar Mchedlishvili threatened a Public journalist with a ban on taking photos during the trial. All cases occurred during trials of high public interest, which are considered political cases.
The Media Advocacy Coalition considers the court’s new practice to be illegal. According to the organization, this sets a dangerous precedent and reveals the Georgian Dream’s deliberate restrictive policy towards the media. “Banning media access to court proceedings is not only a violation of the rights of journalists, but also an infringement of the entire society’s right to information,” the statement says.
Formula TV journalist Anamaria Gelitashvili was fined twice in the amount of 10,000 lari for “artificially blocking the road” while performing her professional duties on Rustaveli Avenue. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) informed the journalist about the fines on June 17, 2025. She is accused of blocking the road during the May 6 protest.
The MIA accuses the journalist of “artificially blocking the road” during the protest actions held on May 6 and March 27, 2025. According to Anamaria Gelitashvili, in both cases she was carrying out journalistic work, and there is video evidence confirming this. After filing an appeal, one of the fines was annulled. As for the second one, she has not been notified.
Since November 28, 2024, during the ongoing pro-European protests in Georgia, journalists have repeatedly faced attacks and unlawful restrictions. There have been numerous cases of media workers being unjustly sanctioned while performing their professional duties — including fines for allegedly blocking roads while reporting on the protests, often without any legitimate basis.
Blocking the road is considered a violation of the rules for organizing and holding assemblies and demonstrations under Article 174¹ of the Administrative Offenses Code. Journalists who are being prosecuted on these grounds were simply carrying out their professional duties during the protests. While demonstrators move onto Rustaveli Avenue and block the roadway, journalists are on the scene — doing live broadcasts, conducting interviews, taking photos and videos, and performing other reporting tasks.
Since November 28, there have been 33 recorded cases of journalists being fined for “blocking the road.”
- The Ministry of Internal Affairs fined Mariam Nikuradze, founder and photographer of OC Media, four times for “blocking the road” — on March 11, March 15, April 2, and April 3. In total, the journalist has been fined 20,000 GEL. Mariam Nikuradze has appealed all the fines. In one of the cases — related to the March 11 road blockage — the Ministry of Internal Affairs rejected her request to have the fine canceled. The remaining cases are still under review. According to the journalist, in all of the incidents mentioned, she was carrying out her professional duties, wearing a press badge, and had a camera with her.
- On May 23, 2025, judge Zviad Tskekvava fined Mariam Kavshbaia, a journalist from Publika, 5,000 GEL. The administrative offense report against her was filed by police on February 3 of this year. The Ministry of Internal Affairs accused the journalist of “blocking the road” while performing her professional duties. Mariam Kavshbaia presented evidence to the court — including photos she took that day and her published reports on Publika’s Facebook page. Additionally, video footage submitted by the Ministry itself showed her working during the protest. Despite this, the court upheld the fine and ordered her to pay 5,000 GEL.
- On April 25, 2025, journalist Irina Makaridze was notified that she had been fined 5,000 GEL for allegedly “illegally blocking the road.” According to the journalist, she was on Rustaveli Avenue performing her professional duties, covering the protest for Qronika +.
- On April 12, 2025, Tabula news agency journalist Luka Katsitadze was fined 5,000 GEL for “blocking the road.” The online outlet Tabula reports that on April 12, Luka Katsitadze was on Shota Rustaveli Avenue carrying out his professional duties.
- On April 10, 2025, Formula TV journalist Eliso Jarishvili was informed that she had been fined 5,000 GEL for “illegally blocking the road.” The Ministry of Internal Affairs accuses her of blocking the road on March 12, during which time she was performing her professional duties.
- On April 10, photographer Goga Chanadiri was fined 5,000 GEL by Judge Nino Enukidze. He is accused of “blocking the road” on Rustaveli Avenue. The photographer responded to the court’s decision on social media, writing that he has attended nearly every rally and protest, covering them in various ways. He considers the fine to be unfair.
- On April 8, 2025, Public Broadcaster journalist Tozu Gulmamedova was notified of a fine. She is accused of “blocking the road” on February 16 of the same year. According to the Public Broadcaster, Tozu Gulmamedova was performing her professional duties at the protest that day.
- Khatia Ghoghoberdze, editor-in-chief of the media outlet April, was fined 5,000 GEL by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for allegedly “blocking the road” while carrying out her professional duties. The Ministry accuses the journalist of blocking the road on March 29. “In the official notice delivered to Ghoghoberdze, there is no mention of her performing professional duties — she is identified as a protest participant. The journalist plans to appeal the fine in court,” April reports.
- On March 25, 2025, Voice of America’s correspondent in Georgia, Nino Dalakishvili, was fined 5,000 GEL for allegedly blocking the road. She is accused of “blocking the road” at a time when she was performing her professional duties — broadcasting live from the area near the Parliament.
- On March 21, 2025, Netgazeti online outlet journalist Nino Baidauri was fined 5,000 GEL by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. She is accused of “blocking Rustaveli Avenue.”
- On March 19, 2025, Radio Tbilisi journalist Merab Merkviladze received a notice of a 5,000 GEL fine.
- TV Pirveli photojournalist Giorgi Mosiashvili was fined 5,000 GEL by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Police accuse Mosiashvili of “illegally blocking the road” on Rustaveli Avenue at 9:03 PM on March 11. In a social media post, Mosiashvili stated that at the time of the fine, he was on Rustaveli Avenue performing his professional duties. This is Mosiashvili’s second fine. The first was issued on February 21, 2025, also for allegedly “blocking the road.” In total, he has received two fines amounting to 10,000 GEL.
- Formula journalist Nano Chakvetadze was fined 5,000 GEL. She is accused of “illegally blocking the road” on March 13, 2025. According to Formula, Nano Chakvetadze was on Rustaveli Avenue that day performing her professional duties.
- On March 9, 2025, Formula TV journalist and talk show host Irakli Tabliashvili was fined for allegedly blocking the road during a protest. As he explains in his video blog, he was handed the fine while returning to Tbilisi from a country house with his wife and young child.
- On February 11, 2025, the Ministry of Internal Affairs fined Beka Beridze, a representative of the online media outlet 64, 5,000 GEL. He is accused of “illegally blocking the road.” Beridze appealed the fine imposed by the Ministry, but the appeal was rejected. The decision is now being challenged in court.
- On February 21, 2025, the Ministry of Internal Affairs fined Radio Liberty journalist Gela Bochikashvili 5,000 GEL for allegedly “blocking the road.” The journalist was performing his professional duties near the Parliament building, covering a protest. He was wearing a press vest and had proper press credentials.
- On February 14, 2025, Publika journalist Basti Mgaloblishvili was fined for allegedly “blocking the road.” Footage published by the journalist shows that he was performing his professional duties, filming the events as they unfolded, and wearing a press badge. On June 6, the Ministry of Internal Affairs rejected the journalist’s appeal. He had submitted evidence confirming that he was carrying out his professional duties and covering the pro-European protest.
- On February 17, 2025, the Ministry of Internal Affairs fined Studio Monitori journalist Nino Tsverava 5,000 GEL for allegedly “blocking the road.” The journalist submitted evidence to the Ministry showing that she was performing her professional duties at the protest. The fine was later revoked.
- On February 17, 2025, the Ministry of Internal Affairs fined another Studio Monitori journalist, Nino Shubitidze, 5,000 GEL for allegedly “illegally blocking the road.” After evidence was submitted to the Ministry, her fine was also revoked.
- On February 17, 2025, while covering a protest, Radio Liberty journalist Giorgi Diasamidze was also accused of blocking the road. He was informed of this by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on February 21. The Ministry stated that he had been fined 5,000 GEL for allegedly “blocking the road” near the Parliament building.
- On February 14, 2025, Tabula journalist Beka Jikurashvili was also accused of blocking the road while performing his professional duties. According to Tabula, Jikurashvili was wearing a press badge and was carrying out his work responsibilities.
- On February 2, 2025, the Ministry of Internal Affairs fined Mtavari Arkhi TV journalist and host Natia Gogsadze. She is accused of blocking the road during a pro-European protest. According to information released by Mtavari Arkhi, Natia Gogsadze was informed about the fine over the phone. During the call, the exact amount of the fine was not specified.
- On February 4, 2025, law enforcement authorities contacted Tabula journalist Nikoloz Chiraqadze and informed him that he had “violated traffic regulations” while on the capital’s central avenue on January 17, and would therefore have to undergo legal procedures. According to Tabula, the journalist was on Rustaveli Avenue performing his professional duties at the time.
- April media photojournalist Vakho Kareli is being accused by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of “illegally blocking the road.” According to a Ministry representative, “it is an established fact” that Vakho Karel was present at Rustaveli Avenue on January 26. When the photojournalist responded that it was likely he was there because he is a journalist, the Ministry representative replied: “That’s something you need to prove — you must present the appropriate documentation, based on which the court will make a decision.”
- Radio Liberty journalist Eka Kevanishvili is being accused by police of “blocking the road” on Rustaveli Avenue on January 22. On that day, Kevanishvili was filming a video with a cameraman. “She has already submitted documentation to the police confirming that she is indeed a Radio Liberty journalist and was carrying out an assignment from the editorial team that day. However, she has not yet received any notification on whether the legal proceedings against her have been terminated,” the Radio Liberty article states.
- On January 4, 2025, Mtavari Arkhi journalist Aleksandre Sajaia was also accused of blocking the road while performing his professional duties.
- Davit Kekenadze, a journalist for the international media corporation Euronews, was fined 5,000 GEL by Tbilisi City Court. Police accused him of blocking the road during a pro-European protest held on January 3.
- Germane Salia, director of Poti-based Ninth Wave TV and co-chair of the Regional Broadcasters’ Alliance, was fined 1,000 GEL for driving during a protest march in Zugdidi. According to Salia, he was attending the march as a journalist to prepare coverage. Three days later, while driving from Poti to Zugdidi, he was stopped by patrol police and informed that his car had been listed as wanted in connection with the protest on December 13, 2024. Although he explained to police that he was performing his professional duties, the fine was still imposed.
- On November 10, 2024, Radio Liberty journalist Salome Chaduneli was accused by police of “blocking the road” during a protest organized by the group Daitove.
Georgian Dream increased the amount of fines in the context of the pro-European protests that began after November 28. According to amendments made to Georgia’s Code of Administrative Offenses, the fine for illegally blocking a roadway has been increased tenfold — from 500 GEL to 5,000 GEL.
