Persecution based on professional grounds
On January 20, Pro-Government TV”Imedi” published a clip on its social media page taken from a monologue by TV Pirveli journalist Vika Bukia, with the caption: “The grammatical ‘education’ of a propagandist.”
Vika Bukia is a journalist known for her critical stance toward “Georgian Dream.” It is for this reason that the pro-government TV station “Imedi” singled out an excerpt from the journalist’s monologue and, for the purpose of discrediting her, labeled her a “propagandist.”
On January 17, after an investigative report aired on Saturday Formula about the possible involvement of “Georgian Dream” supporter Goga Khaindrava in corruption schemes, the program’s host, Davit Kashiashvili, received a threatening message on social media from an unknown person. The author of the threat wrote to the journalist: “Tbilisi is a small city… take care of yourself, buddy.”
Davit Kashiashvili announced the incident himself during the program’s live broadcast, thereby informing the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. It is also noteworthy that a few weeks earlier Saturday Formula had prepared a report on Goga Khaindrava’s property, after the broadcast of which the director publicly stated his intention to file a lawsuit against the television company.
According to the assessment of the Charter of Journalistic Ethics, this case of threats against a journalist is particularly alarming against the backdrop of inadequate protection of journalists’ safety in Georgia. The organization calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to immediately investigate the incident and ensure the journalist’s safety.
On August 30, 2025, Tozu Gulmamedli, a journalist for the independent online media outlet “Mautskebeli,” was fined 5,000 GEL for a second time on the grounds of “blocking the road” near the Parliament building. Although the journalist was performing her professional duties – as evidenced by materials published on “Mautskebeli’s” platforms investigative authorities failed to take this circumstance into account.
According to information released by “Mautskebeli,” the National Bureau of Enforcement has frozen the journalist’s bank accounts and threatened to seize property registered in her name, granting her a seven-day deadline to comply with the aforementioned demand.
Such practices constitute the criminalization of journalistic activity and an interference with professional duties. Furthermore, the use of seizures acts as a mechanism for additional financial pressure and substantially restricts the freedom of a journalist to carry out their professional activities.
On January 12, the POSTV program “Analytica” aired a report titled “The Criminal Chronology of Criminal Mzia Amaghlobeli,” which employs stigmatizing and discrediting language against journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, the founder of the publications Batumelebi and Netgazeti.
The report is built on a narrative suggesting that the ongoing protest processes in the country are managed by the so-called “Global War Party.” In this context, emphasis is placed on alleged violence by protesters against the police. The segment reinforces this narrative by portraying Mzia Amaghlobeli as “one of the figures in a script drafted by the Global War Party.” Furthermore, it uses an incident involving a police officer to solidify her stigmatization, depicting her as an assailant and an aggressor against law enforcement. The report ignores the broader context and other significant circumstances.
Overall, the segment creates a sharply biased narrative in which the police are cast in the role of the victim, while the journalist is presented as a figure posing a threat to society. Such rhetoric is part of a systemic trend of discredit against Mzia Amaghlobeli and facilitates the deliberate manipulation of public opinion against her.
On January 12, 2025, Mzia Amaghlobeli was arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer for slapping the head of the Batumi Police, Irakli Dgebuadze. On August 6, 2025, the court sentenced her to two years in prison, while the charge was reclassified from “assault on a police officer” to “resistance, threat, or violence against a protector of public order.” Numerous international and local organizations have condemned Amaghlobeli’s imprisonment and called for her release. She is considered a political prisoner.
On January 12, during a public comment, Kakha Kaladze verbally insulted a journalist from the TV company TV Pirveli. The incident followed a question posed by the journalist regarding the presence at the port of Kulevi of a vessel marked as part of the so-called “shadow fleet” and the risk of secondary sanctions being imposed on the country.
The mayor’s response to the journalist’s question contained offensive statements, including accusations that the journalist was lying and attempting to mislead the public. Despite the journalist’s efforts to obtain serious answers and relevant evidence, Kaladze continued to make insulting remarks.
Such rhetoric toward critical media outlets is systemic in nature and is regularly used by representatives of “Georgian Dream,” which significantly harms the environment for journalistic activity, especially when covering issues of high public interest.
According to the Young Lawyers’ Association of Georgia (GYLA), the eyesight condition of Mzia Amaghlobeli, founder of “Batumelebi” and “Netgazeti,” is at an alarming level. The organization notes that Mzia Amaghlobeli has not undergone the necessary examinations and, to date, has not received proper consultation from a doctor, which is essential for maintaining eyesight and planning treatment.
“In 2025, before being placed in the penitentiary institution, her eyesight in the right eye was approximately 30% (0.3), which could have increased up to 90% with corrective glasses. After being placed in prison, her eyesight deteriorated alarmingly. According to examinations conducted on February 4, 2025, her right eye’s eyesight could be corrected with glasses to approximately 60%, but a repeated examination two days later showed that Mzia Amaghlobeli’s eyesight in the right eye had dropped to 0.1 (a 20% decrease in two days), and correction with glasses was now possible only up to 40%, instead of the 90% before imprisonment,” the statement released by GYLA reads.
According to the Young Lawyers’ Association of Georgia, in July 2025, lawyers requested that the prison administration provide Mzia Amaghlobeli with the necessary examinations at the medical institutions she had visited prior to her arrest, where her patient history was kept. This request was denied by the penitentiary service, after which the journalist’s eyesight was examined at a clinic chosen by the prison administration.
“Despite medical assessments that clearly show the alarming deterioration of Mzia Amaghlobeli’s eyesight during her time in prison, the penitentiary institution has not taken any effective measures to arrange adequate examinations and appropriate treatment, nor has the cause of such dramatic deterioration in eyesight been determined,” the statement said.
On August 6, Mzia Amaghlobeli was sentenced by the Batumi City Court to two years in prison. The decision was upheld by the Kutaisi Court of Appeals.
On November 24, the Tbilisi City Court dismissed the case of Mzia Amaghlobeli, founder of “Batumelebi” and “Netgazeti,” against the Georgian Dream Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze. In the lawsuit, Mzia Amaghlobeli sought a denial from Irakli Kobakhidze of the false accusations he made about her.
In July 2025, through pro-government television channels “Imedi” and “Adjara TV,” Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated about the imprisoned journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli that she had slapped the then Batumi Police Chief, Irakli Dgebuadze, on the orders of “foreign powers.”
The judge ruled that Irakli Kobakhidze’s statement was made within the context of political debate.
After the hearing, Mzia Amaghlobeli’s lawyer, Ana Rekhviashvili, said: “Such a decision in a case like this is a dangerous precedent for Georgian justice, as the court has opened the way for political officeholders and told them that they can make any statement, spread any falsehood, and political officeholders will not be held accountable for spreading such falsehoods.”
In November, at the Zugdidi District Court, a “TV Pirveli” journalist had their mobile phone confiscated. According to the television company, the journalist was only allowed to attend the court hearing after the court’s security service sealed their phone. “As an alternative, they were only offered paper and a pen,” stated TV Pirveli.
On June 30, 2025, amendments to the Law on Common Courts came into effect, significantly restricting media rights. Specifically:
Following these changes, the media’s ability to freely cover important proceedings has been severely limited, including cases such as the trial of Mzia Amaghlobeli, founder of Netgazeti, and other conscientious objectors.
It is noteworthy that recently, several individuals have reported instances of violence, as well as physical and verbal abuse by court ushers at the Tbilisi City Court. The legislative amendments adopted on June 30 now further restrict the media’s ability to report on such unlawful actions within the justice system.
“TV Pirveli” journalist Giorgi Mamniashvili, who was accused by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of minor hooliganism and disobeying a lawful police order, was fined 3,000 GEL by Judge Zviad Tsekvava.
Mamniashvili was detained on November 22 while covering a protest. According to a police officer witness, Mamniashvili allegedly insulted and verbally abused them at the time of his arrest. However, in a video released by “TV Pirveli,” which Mamniashvili himself recorded, it is clear that the journalist was explaining to the police that he was performing his professional duties. According to the television company, footage retrieved from Mamniashvili’s phone confirms that he did not use any offensive language.
Mamniashvili’s lawyer stated that after the arrest, the journalist was subjected to degrading and humiliating treatment at the Dighomi pre-trial detention facility. Specifically, for several hours, his hands were cuffed behind his back, he was fully stripped, and forced to perform so-called “squats.”
The international press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), together with the Center for Media, Information and Social Research(CMIS), released a review of the media environment in Georgia, noting that “these arrests reflect how Georgia has become a country where nearly 50 incidents against independent media outlets are recorded every month.”
On November 12, Tiko Eradze released a video filmed in the Parliament’s Plenary Hall, where she recorded “Georgian Dream” MP Eka Chichinadze listening to a video recording on her phone from the lodge designated for journalists. Shortly after the video was published, Tiko Eradze herself posted on Facebook, expressing her assumption that her accreditation would be suspended.
On November 13, the journalist was informed by a letter from the Head of the Parliament Apparatus that her accreditation had been suspended for a period of one month. The letter explained the grounds for the suspension: “You filmed the mobile phone screen of Member of Parliament Eka Chichinadze from the location designated for the media without permission.”
The restriction of journalists’ activities in the Parliament building by “Georgian Dream” is linked to the approval of the Rules of Accreditation for Media in the Parliament of Georgia on February 6, 2023. The new regulations included restrictions such as a ban on filming without prior permission, the journalist’s obligation to stop an interview if a Member of Parliament refuses, and the requirement that a journalist must not film a Member of Parliament’s phone or other electronic device screen without their consent in a way that allows the information or image on it to be perceived. These changes drew criticism from the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, which stated that such regulations made it impossible to obtain and deliver information to the public.
This is not the first time that the Parliament has used the media accreditation rules against representatives of independent media.
