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.