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 November 2, 2025, Tea Gabadadze, a member of the supervisory board of the state corporation “Sakrusenergo” and a relative of a businessman close to “Georgian Dream,” threatened journalist Vika Bukia, the host of “TV Pirveli’s” author’s program, with physical violence on social media. Gabadadze’s threat followed a photo posted by Vika Bukia on social media with a sarcastic caption, featuring members of “Georgian Dream” and their supporters, including Gabadadze. “I will cut your fingers with secateurs,” Gabadadze wrote to the journalist, and subsequently repeated the threat of physical violence against the journalist multiple times in the comments.
It should be noted that this is not the first time Gabadadze has publicly threatened a journalist. On June 7, 2025, “TV Pirveli” journalists Nodar Meladze and Tea Dolenjashvili also became the targets of her threats. At that time, her threats followed a story prepared by the journalists: “Nodar Meladze, I will rip your head off (in the full sense of the word) and take Tamta Dolenjashvili with it,” Tea Gabadadze wrote.
On October 15, Sulkhan Meskhidze, the founder and director of “Adjara Times,” published a post on social media, stating that he had received a threatening and insulting message. According to Meskhidze, the message concerned him and his family members.
According to the journalist, the reason for the threat was most likely his publication, which concerns the resignation of Akaki Beridze, the head of the Batumi City Hall’s Department of City Infrastructure and Public Works.
In the post, he writes that this is not the first case of threats, but since he has not received a response from the investigative agencies on previous cases, he will not make an official statement on the matter.
Individuals associated with the ruling party, “Georgian Dream,” demanded that Radio Marneuli delete information about one of the party’s candidates, threatening legal action in court if the demand was not met.
The incident occurred on September 9, 2025. According to Radio Marneuli, they had shared a post on social media from an activist regarding alleged crimes of Gamlet Ismailov, the “Georgian Dream” majoritarian candidate in Dmanisi. The activist wrote that the party candidate had married his own underage student years ago in the Karabulakhi community of Dmanisi, where he also served as the school director. The post further mentioned that Ismailov allegedly concealed information about the forced marriage of another underage student at the school, who later became a victim of femicide.
After sharing this post, the editorial office received multiple calls from the candidate’s representatives, first demanding the post be deleted, and later threatening legal action.
Following this incident, the current mayor of Dmanisi, Koba Muradashvili, also associated with “Georgian Dream,” threatened Radio Marneuli with a lawsuit after a journalist called him for a comment on the information.
On June 11, 2025, Tbilisi City Court Judge Tamar Mchedlishvili, who is presiding over the case of eight individuals arrested during a protest, threatened Mindia Gabadze, a journalist from the online outlet Publika, saying he would not be allowed to take photos at the next hearing. According to the journalist, the judge addressed him directly: “She called out to me just after announcing the end of the hearing, while I was quietly continuing to take photos,” Gabadze wrote on social media.
Mindia Gabadze is one of the journalists who regularly attends court hearings related to so-called “prisoners of conscience” and reports on the developments. His social media accounts feature numerous emotional photos and videos from courtrooms, including visual documentation of statements made by the prisoners.
Recently, the court system has increasingly restricted media coverage of judicial proceedings. Between May 22 and June 11, 2025, there were four recorded incidents (on May 22, 23, 29, and 30) in Tbilisi City Court where reporters equipped with photo and video cameras were denied entry. On June 10, one hearing was entirely closed to the media, including those previously granted permission to record. All of these instances occurred during hearings deemed to be of high public interest and considered to involve political cases.
The Media Advocacy Coalition stated that these actions set a dangerous precedent and reflect the ruling party Georgian Dream’s deliberate policy of restricting the press.
“Banning media access to court proceedings not only violates the rights of journalists but also infringes upon the public’s right to be informed. With such actions, Georgian Dream is trying to withhold crucial information about important court decisions from the public and limit citizens’ ability to hold the government accountable,” the coalition’s statement reads.
On June 7, 2025, a relative of a businessman close to “Georgian Dream,” who is also employed at a state-owned company, publicly threatened “TV Pirveli” journalists Tamta Dolenjashvili and Nodar Meladze.
“Nodar Meladze, I’ll rip your head off (in the full sense of the word) and take Tamta Dolenjashvili down with you,” wrote Tea Gadabadze on social media. She is the sister-in-law of Noshrevan Namoradze, a businessman affiliated with “Georgian Dream.”
The investigative report prepared by Tamta Dolenjashvili focused on individuals allegedly hired through nepotism into high-paying positions at the state-owned company “Sakrusenergo.” According to “TV Pirveli,” one of those individuals is Tea Gadabadze, who, according to the journalistic investigation, is employed as a member of Sakrusenergo’s supervisory board.
