At a press conference held on January 21, “Georgian Dream” supporter Goga Khaindrava announced that he is suing tv “Formula.”
On January 17, “Shabatis Formula” (Saturday Formula) aired a report about Goga Khaindrava. According to the report, Khaindrava is allegedly involved in corruption schemes.
After the report was broadcast, the show’s host, Davit Kashiashvili, stated that he received a threatening letter from an unknown individual. The author of the threat wrote to the journalist: “Tbilisi is a small city… take care of yourself, buddy.”
Davit Kashiashvili personally announced this during a live broadcast of the program, thereby notifying the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia about the matter.
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 16, Tbilisi City Court Judge Nino Enukidze terminated the administrative proceedings initiated against journalist Afgan Sadigov and referred the case to the Tbilisi Police Department, as the court assessed that his actions may contain elements of a criminal offense. This means that the journalist faces the risk of a criminal investigation being launched.
The case concerns an incident that occurred on December 17–18, 2025. The Ministry of Internal Affairs accuses Afgan Sadigov of obstructing traffic and/or pedestrian movement. According to the court’s assessment, since the journalist had already been subjected to an administrative penalty on the same grounds in October 2025, the conduct contains signs of a criminal offense.
This decision was made against the backdrop of legislative amendments under which, in the event of a repeated violation, administrative liability is replaced by criminal liability.
On December 9, 2025, the Tbilisi Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Tbilisi City Court in the defamation case brought by former Minister of Internal Affairs of “Georgian Dream,” Aleksandre Chikaidze, against the television company TV Pirveli and journalist Sopho Niauri. The dispute concerns a report aired on TV Pirveli in the program “Nodar Meladze’s Saturday,” in which Chikaidze was accused of having links to so-called call centers. The Court of Appeal ordered the television company and the journalist to issue a retraction of the information disseminated about Aleksandre Chikaidze and to pay moral damages in the amount of 10,000 lari.
It is particularly problematic that in such a dispute the journalist was considered a proper defendant, which contradicts the Law “On Freedom of Speech and Expression,” according to which, in defamation cases related to content published by a journalist in the media, the defendant is the media owner. Such an approach is the result of incorrect judicial practice that has taken root in recent years and creates a precedent harmful to media freedom.
This judicial practice is developing against the backdrop of amendments to the Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression, which “Georgian Dream” adopted under an expedited procedure on June 26. The amendments shifted the burden of proof to the defendant, abolished important mechanisms for the protection of journalists, including guarantees for source protection and the so-called qualified privilege, and increased the risks of legal pressure against the media and critical voices.
This is not the first instance of legal proceedings initiated against critical media on the grounds of defamation. According to the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, in recent years 28 lawsuits have been filed against three leading critical television channels—Mtavari Arkhi, Formula, and TV Pirveli—most of which were initiated by representatives of the ruling party and individuals close to them. In the organization’s assessment, such cases bear the hallmarks of SLAPP litigation and point to a coordinated trend aimed at intimidating critical media.
On December 12, 2025, “Georgian Dream” adopted another repressive legislative amendment restricting the freedom of assembly, which was considered under an expedited procedure within three days. Since December 2024, “Georgian Dream” has amended the legislation regulating assemblies and demonstrations five times. Each time, the amendments have become increasingly repressive, aiming both to punish demonstrators and to intimidate them preventively.
The legislative changes were introduced into the Law of Georgia “On Assemblies and Demonstrations” and the Code of Administrative Offenses. The amendments significantly strengthen the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ control over assemblies and demonstrations. Under the new rules, organizers are obliged to notify the Ministry of Internal Affairs in advance not only when the action will block transport routes but also when the assembly will take place on pedestrian areas. This obligation applies even to spontaneous gatherings, and the notification must be addressed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs rather than the municipality. In addition, the Ministry is authorized to issue binding instructions regarding changes to the location, time, or route of the demonstration.
When a pedestrian area is blocked en masse, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is authorized to give participants a 15-minute deadline to vacate the area, after which the assembly may be declared unlawful and dispersed. Compliance with this requirement within the given timeframe does not exempt participants from legal liability. Violations are punishable by administrative detention of up to 15 days (up to 20 days for organizers), and repeated violations may result in criminal liability.
The Social Justice Center assesses these legislative amendments as a new stage in the criminalization of the freedom of assembly. According to the organization, restricting gatherings on sidewalks and pedestrian areas constitutes an unconstitutional and unjustified limitation on the right to peaceful assembly. They also state that the goal of the adopted amendments is the effective prohibition of all assemblies.
The legislative changes adopted by “Georgian Dream” have significantly restricted the freedom of assembly and expression for both citizens and journalists. On multiple occasions, journalists have been detained under repressive legislation, including in cases where they were performing their professional duties.
The Speaker of Parliament from “Georgian Dream“, Shalva Papuashvili, responded to a report aired on the pro-government TV channel Imedi targeting the association of independent online media outlets, Light Media, attempting to discredit and intimidate them.
Shalva Papuashvili said that online media outlets are bypassing the law and accused them of committing “criminal” offenses.
“[Online media outlets] invent schemes to circumvent legislation, and part of this scheme involves violating restrictions when money moves undeclared across the territory of Georgia. Therefore, of course, attention must be paid to all of this. Those whose competence this falls under are monitoring these processes. Wherever they detect signs of a crime, there will be an appropriate response,” said Shalva Papuashvili.
On November 23, the pro-government TV channel Imedi aired a propagandistic report against Light Media. Light Media is a coalition of 22 independent online media outlets formed after laws and legislative changes adopted by the Georgian Dream parliament placed online media in a dire situation. The report broadcast on Imedi, aimed at discrediting these outlets, claimed that the media were supposedly working on the orders of “foreign intelligence services” and were engaged in “anti-state” activities.
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.”
“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 22, during a protest in Tbilisi, near Ingorokva Street, “TV Pirveli” journalist Giorgi Mamniashvili was detained. According to the television company, the journalist was performing his professional duties at the time of his arrest and was covering the protest. For several hours, the “TV Pirveli” newsroom was unable to get in touch with him.
At the moment of his detention, Mamniashvili was filming the police arresting other protesters on his mobile phone and sending the footage to the newsroom, when officers attempted to seize his phone. Shortly after, they ordered his arrest. In the video recorded by Mamniashvili, he can be heard telling the police that he is a journalist and is carrying out his professional duties.
According to the journalist’s lawyer, after the arrest, Mamniashvili was treated in a degrading and humiliating manner 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.”
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Aleksandre Darakhvelidze described the practice of strip-searching detainees upon admission to the detention facility as “a required procedure to document any possible injuries.” Public Defender Levan Ioseliani, however, calls the strip-searching of detainees “degrading and humiliating treatment.”
“The case of Giorgi Mamniashvili is a clear example of the repressive policies of Georgian Dream, aimed at restricting independent media and silencing critical voices,” the Media Advocacy Coalition stated.
On November 12, 2025, Afghan Sadygov, an Azerbaijani journalist residing in Georgia, was sentenced to administrative imprisonment for the second time under the pretext of blocking a road—he will spend 7 days in prison. He is accused of blocking the road on October 19-21, 2025. Afghan Sadygov had already been imprisoned once on the same charge, having been sentenced to 14 days of administrative imprisonment. At that time, the exiled journalist was accused of blocking the road on October 18.
According to the “Social Justice Center,” the organization defending Sadygov’s interests, at the time of Afghan Sadygov’s first detention, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) already knew that the journalist would stand on the roadway during the protest on subsequent days, but did not merge the cases: “This circumstance once again indicates that the MIA intentionally did not appeal to the court regarding the remaining days, so that the court would have the opportunity to apply administrative imprisonment against Afghan Sadygov twice. It is obvious that the MIA is trying to make an example of an activist actively involved in the protests by punishing him through the court.”
Since October 19, 2025, after the “Georgian Dream” parliament adopted another set of repressive changes under an accelerated procedure, 13 media representatives have been detained for participating in, and in some cases covering, the ongoing protest on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi. Administrative imprisonment was applied to most of them.
