On March 26, 2025, the Parliament of Georgia suspended the accreditation of TV Pirveli journalist Nata Kajaia for six months.
The suspension is related to a report she produced about individuals detained during pro-European protests. Kajaia had approached parliamentary staff for interviews. After being refused, she continued trying to obtain answers from public officials.
“The reaction from Georgian Dream shows that they did not like the segment aired on Saturday, because we told the audience how the persecution is based on falsehoods — in a criminal case involving prisoners of conscience. I approached a parliamentary employee for an interview — the man whose testimony is part of the case against the prisoners of conscience,” Kajaia said in an interview with TV Pirveli.
The incident drew a response from the Media Advocacy Coalition, which stated:
“The regime is systematically abusing independent media. Journalists are being unlawfully obstructed in their professional work. There is a pattern of continuous attacks, intimidation, insults, and disinformation. To this day, no one has been held accountable — neither those who ordered nor those who carried out these systemic crimes.”
The rules for journalist accreditation in the legislature are defined by a decree issued by the Speaker of Parliament on February 6, 2023.
On March 26, 2025, journalists were denied entry to a session of the “Civil Advisory Council,” a consultative body of the Akhaltsikhe Municipality City Hall. Journalists from Samkhretis Karibche and TOK TV who arrived at the location were told that they could not enter the public institution because the meeting had already started.
According to Samkhretis Karibche, City Hall has not been providing information about the scheduling of council meetings for months. The media outlet also reports that this information is not being published publicly by the municipality.
On April 30, 2025, Formula TV journalists Eliso Jariashvili and Tata Forakishvili received notifications that their parliamentary accreditations had been suspended for one month.
In both cases, the journalists were attempting to obtain answers to critical questions from Georgian Dream party MPs. The parliamentary administration deemed this a violation of the “Rules for Accrediting Media Representatives in the Parliament of Georgia.”Tata Forakishvili’s accreditation was suspended at the request of Georgian Dream MP Nino Tsilosani, while Eliso Jariashvili’s suspension was initiated by MP Archil Gorduladze, also from the ruling party.
On April 12, 2025, Tabula news agency journalist Luka Katsitadze was fined 5,000 GEL for the alleged “illegal blocking of the road.”
The online outlet reports that Luka Katsitadze was performing his professional duties on Shota Rustaveli Avenue on April 12. The publication also notes that this is not the first instance in which journalists have been fined without legitimate grounds.
Center for Media, Information and Social Research has documented dozens of such cases.
On April 7, 2025, journalists were not allowed to attend a session of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. The session was convened to appoint the new head of the government of Adjara. The live broadcast of the session was also cut off.
This is not the first time journalists have been banned from public meetings. On April 4, media crews from Formula, TV Pirveli, and Mtis Ambebi were denied access to a municipal assembly session in Chiatura.
“Such incidents are part of the Georgian Dream party’s policy aimed at silencing and marginalizing independent media. We are witnessing systematic pressure against critical media, including physical violence, threats, unlawful interference in their work, verbal abuse, legal persecution, and discriminatory treatment in accessing information. Despite this ongoing violence, no perpetrators have been held accountable,” stated the Media Advocacy Coalition.
On April 6, 2025, journalist Irina Makaridze, reporting for the newspaper “Qronika+” and the news agency “CNews“, was covering ongoing protest on Shota Rustaveli Avenue when she was fined 5,000 GEL by police for “illegally blocking the road.”
The journalist plans to appeal the fine.
Center for Media, Information and Social Research has documented dozens of similar cases.
On April 4, 2025, journalists from TV channels Formula, TV Pirveli, and Mtis Ambebi were denied entry to a meeting of The Chiatura Municipality Assembly.
The Media Advocacy Coalition called the incident yet another example of a systemic campaign against the media, aimed at suppressing critical voices and restricting the free exchange of information.
“Such incidents are part of the Georgian Dream party’s policy to silence and marginalize independent media. We are witnessing systemic pressure on critical media, which manifests in physical violence against journalists, threats, unlawful obstruction of their work, verbal abuse, legal persecution, and discriminatory treatment when accessing information. Despite this ongoing violence, no perpetrators have been held accountable,” the Coalition stated in its conclusion.
On June 2, 2025, the Ministry of Internal Affairs rejected the appeal and fined Beqa Beridze, a graphic designer from 64, 5,000 GEL.
According to media reports, the Ministry accuses Beqa Beridze of blocking the road on February 11, 2025. Beridze appealed the fine imposed by the Ministry, but the appeal was not upheld. A representative of 64 stated that the decision will be challenged in court.
Since November 28, 2024, around 36 media representatives have been fined while performing their professional duties. Most of these cases are currently under review. So far, two journalists have been found in violation of the law by the court and have been issued administrative fines.
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 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.
