Incident Source: Court

On May 22, 2025, a court hearing for politician Zurab “Girchi” Japaridze was held at Tbilisi City Court. The case has drawn significant public attention, and with it, strong interest from the media. Nevertheless, correspondents who arrived to cover the hearing and were carrying photo or video cameras were not allowed inside the court building. According to the journalists, the rules for entering the building had been changed without any prior notice.

Security personnel at the Tbilisi City Court did not provide an explanation for why the journalists were denied entry. Instead, they referred media representatives to the court’s press office, which did not respond to phone calls.

The issue of media representatives being denied access to court hearings and other public institutions appears to be becoming a recurring trend.

According to the online outlet Publika, media representatives carrying photo and/or video cameras are still being denied entry to the Tbilisi City Court building.

Under the Law of Georgia on General Court and previous practice, journalists without a judge’s permission to record court sessions were still allowed to film freely in the hallways of the court building.

However, on May 22, 2025, when reporters arrived to cover the trial of politician Zurab “Girchi” Japaridze, they found that this practice had changed and were denied entry. The Tbilisi City Court administration has not explained the reason for this change—either beforehand or afterward.