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.
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 7, 2025, a judges’ conference was held in Tbilisi, where, apart from the Public Broadcaster’s “First Channel,” no media representatives were allowed access. According to TV Pirveli, journalist Mariam Gaprindashvili and her cameraman were even prevented from entering the courtyard.
Mariam Gaprindashvili stated that journalists were not given the opportunity to ask judges any questions, as most of the judges were accompanied by security and avoided the main entrance—entering the building instead through the basement or the kitchen area.
Judges, like Georgian Dream, do not allow independent media to attend public meetings.
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.
On May 7, 2025, online media was restricted from covering the “Georgian Dream” congress. The official reason given was the limited number of available seats.
The party’s press office urged media representatives to follow the event via livestream.
At the congress, Irakli Kobakhidze was elected as the new chairman of the “Georgian Dream” party.
On February 4, 2025, the Parliament of Georgia imposed a “Yellow” (elevated) security level that restricted journalists’ access to the parliamentary building. The measure is connected with the presentation of Georgian Dream’s President, Mikheil Kavelashvili.
According to the Parliament’s statement, “Only two accredited crews from each TV broadcaster/ TV outlet will be allowed access to the Parliament until the conclusion of the parliamentary event.”
Under this security level, entry is granted only to individuals specifically invited by the relevant structural units and to accredited TV journalists.
Similar restrictions on journalists were imposed several times throughout 2024.
