On May 7, in Khelvachauri, Sulkhan Meskhidze, the founder of Adjara Times, and Lela Dumbadze, a journalist for Batumelebi, were obstructed from performing their professional duties, allegedly by public officials. The individuals verbally abused the journalists. According to the journalists, there were also threats and attempts at physical retaliation.
The journalists were covering a meeting between the parents of prisoners of conscience and local residents.
According to Batumelebi, among the aggressive individuals was Jumber (Genadi) Diasamidze, the deputy director of the Khelvachauri Municipality Sanitation and Utility Service, who is the cousin of Khelvachauri Mayor Zaza Diasamidze.
“The Charter of Journalistic Ethics calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to immediately investigate the obstruction of journalists Sulkhan Meskhidze and Lela Dumbadze while performing their professional duties in Khelvachauri,” reads the statement released by the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics.
Tbilisi City Council member Konstantine Zarnadze of “Georgian Dream” accuses independent media outlets of “psychological terror, sowing disorder and fear.”
“It is impossible to ignore the psychological terror that opposition media carry out on a daily basis… This is no longer journalism; this is manipulation of people’s psyche. Their goal is to create a constant sense of tension, to sow disorder and fear in society, and to instill complete hopelessness about the future,” the council member said in response to reports by critical media outlets about food prices.
Representatives of “Georgian Dream” systematically engage in the public discrediting of independent media and journalists, with the aim of undermining them in the eyes of the public.
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.
On October 31, Georgian Dream representative from Tbilisi City Council, Otar Chrdileli, verbally abused journalists from TV companies “Formula” and “Pirveli”.
Otar Chrdileli told the journalists that they did not leave a “normal impression” mentally. The journalists asked Chrdileli questions about those detained during pro-European protests. The Georgian Dream representative also called critical TV channels “propagandists”.
On October 4, 2025, during the local government elections (which the opposition and a large part of society consider illegitimate), numerous cases of obstruction of work, threats, and verbal and physical abuse against media representatives were recorded.
Publicly reported incidents:
- Verbal attack on journalists
- Kakha Kaladze, the candidate for mayor of Tbilisi from the Georgian Dream, called journalists “impudent”. The incident took place at the 64th polling station in Tbilisi. After voting, Kakha Kaladze was talking about the protection of freedom of speech and expression in the country. A “Formula” journalist asked him what this meant, to which he replied – “There is some politeness, there is ethics, I understand that you have neither one nor the other.”
- The president of the Georgian Dream, Mikheil Kavelashvili, called TV Pirveli journalist Ina Tsartsidze a “liar” and a representative of a “liar television.” “You, your bosses, are deceiving the youth, the society, that we are illegitimate,” Kavelashvili replied to the journalist, who was trying to get an answer from him whether US President Donald Trump had contacted him.
- Former Prime Minister of the Georgian Dream, Irakli Gharibashvili, called journalists from TV Pirveli and Formula “scoundrels” and “main fakers” at the 11th polling station in Tbilisi. His response followed questions from journalists about whether he himself was expecting to be arrested, since everyone around him is being detained.
- Cases of interference with work of journalists were reported
4. At Akhaltsikhe polling station No. 6, the chairman of the precinct commission restricted journalist Nuka Stepnadze of the publication “Samkhretis Karibche” from filming at the polling station. He told the journalist that he could only film for 10 minutes. According to the publication, the chairman of the commission only allowed the journalist to continue working after the district commission contacted him and explained the rules.
5. In Batumi, at one of the polling stations, a journalist from “TV Pirveli” journalist, Nato Gogelia, was verbally confronted by agitators from the “Georgian Dream”. They first tried to prevent him from filming by covering his camera with their hands, and then cursed at the journalist. Their irritation followed the journalist’s attempt to find out why they were standing at the polling station with lists and why they were registering voters.
On July 17, 2025, Givi Mikanadze, Minister of Education, Science, and Youth of the ruling Georgian Dream party, called journalists “ridiculous” and “pathetic” in response to a question about his doctoral degree.
“You’re very ridiculous, really very ridiculous — so pathetic. What diploma are you even talking about? Doctoral candidate… you can find that in any of my CVs. You’re truly ridiculous. Do you even realize how pathetic you are?” Mikanadze said.
When Mikanadze was nominated as minister, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze introduced him as a PhD from the University of Amsterdam. It was later revealed, however, that Mikanadze had not actually obtained the degree. Journalists were attempting to verify this information.
On July 17, 2025, the Minister of Education, Science, and Youth from “Georgian Dream,” Givi Mikanadze, called journalists “ridiculous” and “powerless” in response to a question regarding his doctoral degree.
“You are very ridiculous, really very ridiculous, so powerless. What diploma are you talking about? PhD candidate… you can read this in any of my CVs. You are very ridiculous. Do you know how powerless you are?” — Mikanadze stated.
When he was appointed minister, Georgian Dream’s Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, referred to him as a doctor from the University of Amsterdam. It later emerged that Mikanadze does not actually hold the degree. Journalists were attempting to verify this information.
