Interference with professional duties
On April 10, 2025, Judge Nino Enukidze fined photographer Goga Chanadiri 5,000 GEL for “artificially blocking the road.” Like other journalists, he is accused of blocking Rustaveli Avenue. At the time, Chanadiri was performing his professional duties.
Responding to the court’s decision on social media, Goga Chanadiri wrote that he had not missed this or nearly any other protest and had covered them in various ways. He considers the imposed fine to be unfair.
On April 10, 2025, Formula journalist Eliso Jariashvili was notified that she had been fined 5,000 lari for “artificially blocking the road.” The Ministry of Internal Affairs accuses her of “artificially blocking the road” on March 12, 2025, while performing her professional duties. According to Jariashvili, the materials sent by the Ministry show that at the time of the fine, she was conducting an interview on Rustaveli Avenue together with camera operators and a colleague journalist. Jariashvili appealed the fine, but the case has not yet been reviewed.
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 Offence, the fine for illegally blocking a roadway has been increased tenfold from 500 GEL to 5,000 GEL.
On June 11, 2025, Tbilisi City Court Judge Mikheil Jinjolia unexpectedly announced the closure of the court session during the trial of Giorgi Akhobadze, who was arrested at a protest. Journalists were once again forced to leave the courtroom without any explanation, including those who had been granted permission to film the proceedings.
Natia Amiranashvili, a journalist from the online outlet Publika, wrote on social media that no order had been disrupted during the hearing: “I have a strong suspicion that the court’s main concern is to silence and neutralize the media — and these steps are being taken to prepare the ground for that.”
In recent months, Georgia’s court system has increasingly restricted the media’s ability to cover legal proceedings. Between May 22 and June 11, 2025, there were four recorded incidents at Tbilisi City Court (on May 22, 23, 29, and 30) in which reporters equipped with photo and video cameras were denied access. On June 10, a court session was completely closed to the media — including to journalists who had previously received permission to record. All these incidents occurred during hearings of high public interest, widely considered to be political cases.
The Media Advocacy Coalition has warned that these actions set a dangerous precedent and reflect a deliberate strategy by the ruling Georgian Dream party to restrict media access.
“Barring media from court proceedings not only violates the rights of journalists but also infringes on the public’s right to be informed. Through such actions, Georgian Dream is attempting to withhold information on critical court decisions from the public and limit citizens’ ability to demand accountability,” the coalition’s statement reads.
On June 10, 2025, Judge Nino Galustashvili closed the hearing of 11 individuals detained during pro-European protests and expelled media representatives from the courtroom without any explanation. Notably, even those journalists who had official permission to film were asked to leave.
Previously, during earlier stages of the same case, some hearings at the Tbilisi City Court had been partially closed — barring supporters, family members, and friends of the defendants from attending — but media outlets with filming accreditation were still allowed to cover the proceedings.
According to the online outlet Publika, the judge’s decision followed a comment made from the courtroom, noting that participants had not been allowed to eat during the hearing. Despite journalists requesting clarification, the judge only announced the decision, providing no further explanation.
In recent months, the courts have increasingly imposed unjustified barriers on the media, hindering journalists from fulfilling their professional duties.
On June 9, 2025, journalists from “TV Pirveli” and “Publika” were obstructed in the performance of their professional duties inside the Tbilisi City Court building.
Giorgi Rosophidze, a police officer summoned as a witness in the case of Nika Kacia, physically confronted Natia Amiranashvili, a journalist from “Publika,” and prevented her from asking questions.
In a video released by the online outlet “Publika,” the police officer is seen attempting to snatch the microphone from journalist Natia Amiranashvili, while so-called police escorts forcibly restrain her and do not allow her to ask questions.
A video shared by “TV Pirveli” journalist Nanuka Kajaia shows a representative of the court’s security service interfering with her professional work.
On May 31, 2025, during the broadcast of “Nodar Meladze’s Shabati” on “TV Pirveli,” journalist Tamta Dolenjashvili presented an investigative report about former members of the “Georgian Dream” party being fictitiously employed in high-paying positions at various state-owned companies. The journalist approached one such individual, Luka Kurtanidze—a former “Georgian Dream” MP—at the Georgian Parliament building to ask questions, but was met with physical violence.
On February 4, during a protest held outside the Georgian Parliament building in Tbilisi, police unlawfully obstructed journalists from carrying out their professional duties and physically assaulted three of them:
While on assignment, a police officer violently struck NEWS.On.ge editor-in-chief Vancent Khabeshvili in the head, knocking him to the ground.
According to Publika, police also assaulted their journalist, Natia Levershvili, during her professional duties near the Parliament — officers reportedly hit her and pulled her hair.
A masked officer attempted to seize the phone of OC Media journalist Givi Avaliani, who was filming the arrest of a protester.
“I was recording a person being detained during the assault on journalists at Parliament, when one of the masked officers grabbed my phone and tried to take it,” Avaliani wrote.
The protest outside Parliament was held in support of Batumelebi founder and editor Mzia Amaghlobeli, who has been on a hunger strike for 24 days in protest.
On February 16, 2025, in the “Dream Town” neighborhood of Batumi, Sulkhan Meskhiadze, founder and editor of Adjara Times, was obstructed while carrying out his professional duties.
An aggressive individual attempted to damage Meskhiadze’s equipment and knocked the microphone out of his hand. The incident was broadcast live, and footage shows that members of Batumi’s City Council were present but left the scene without responding.
The incident followed a tragic event the day before, on February 15, when two young children died in the same area. Sulkhan Meskhiadze was reporting on the tragedy when, allegedly, individuals connected to the ruling party Georgian Dreaminterfered with his work.
On February 10, 2025, Tbilisi City Court found Mtavari Arkhi cameraman Sergi Baramidze guilty of an offense and issued him a verbal warning — despite the fact that he had been assaulted by law enforcement while performing his professional duties.
Baramidze was violently detained on November 19 of the previous year while on assignment. He was later released after signing a written statement.
Following the incident, the Ministry of Internal Affairs filed an administrative offense report against the cameraman. According to the report, on November 19, Baramidze allegedly disrupted public order, used profanity, shouted insults without clear direction, interfered with the lawful detention of another individual, and refused to stop his actions despite multiple warnings. He was charged under Article 166 (petty hooliganism) and Article 173, Part 1 (disobedience to a lawful police order) of the Administrative Offenses Code.
At the hearing on February 10, the judge dropped the case under Article 166 (petty hooliganism) but found Baramidze guilty under Article 173 (interference with police) and issued a verbal reprimand.
On February 12, 2025, a journalist from Batumelebi was denied entry to a public meeting held at Batumi City Hall on the issue of homelessness. According to the outlet, homeless individuals had informed them about the event. However, when the Batumelebi journalist arrived at the entrance of City Hall, security police officers told them they would not be allowed to attend the meeting. The outlet attempted to clarify the reason with the City Hall’s Public Relations Office but received no response.
The Charter of Journalistic Ethics of Georgia stated it has reasonable grounds to believe that the discriminatory treatment of Batumelebi and the restriction of their legal rights are directly connected to the unlawful detention and imprisonment of Mzia Amaghlobeli, and are part of a broader effort to pressure the outlet:
“By refusing to allow a journalist into an open commission meeting in a public building, the security police and Batumi City Hall violated the Batumi Municipal Council’s regulations, which require the creation of working conditions for journalists in public institutions,” the organization’s statement reads.
Mzia Amaghlobeli, co-founder and media manager of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, is the first woman journalist in Georgia considered a prisoner of conscience. She was arrested on January 11, 2025, accused of slapping a law enforcement officer, and faces a prison sentence of 4 to 7 years.
