Tbilisi

The Azerbaijani journalist, Afghan Sadygov, was sentenced to prison for the second time under the pretext of blocking a road

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.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau is requesting information about grants from the publication “Indigo”

On November 11, 2025, the publication “Indigo” released a statement from which it became clear that the Anti-Corruption Bureau had initiated proceedings against them based on the so-called Law on Grants adopted by “Georgian Dream.” “Since our entire activity is based on open communication and only your trust, we want you to know this news as well. Obviously, we continue and serve the mission that created us—we continue working for free speech and expression, for free thoughts and ideas,” the publication writes.

The amendments to the “Law on Grants” are one of the repressive changes adopted by the “Georgian Dream” parliament in recent months to restrict the media. The law came into force in April. These amendments prohibited the issuance of foreign grants without the permission of the government. A grant received without consent leads to a fine equal to double the amount of the grant received.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau carries out the monitoring of the issuance and receipt of grants. This agency has already initiated proceedings against several media outlets based on this law, including: “Project 64,” the investigative media “iFact,” the publication “Mountain News,” GMC, which manages the publications “Realpolitika” and “Flangvis Detector” (Waste Detector), Georgian Media Group, and also the organization working on media rights, the “Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics.”

In addition to media outlets, the Anti-Corruption Bureau is requesting information about grants from civil and non-governmental organizations as well; in total, the agency’s letter has been received by more than 60 organizations, including member organizations of the “Media Advocacy Coalition.”

“Georgian Dream” adopted laws restricting independent media

The “Georgian Dream” parliament adopted new, restrictive laws against independent and critical media through an accelerated procedure. These are the “Foreign Agents Registration Act” [FARA] and amendments to the “Law on Broadcasting” and the “Law on Grants.” These laws were adopted against a background of repression and violence taking place against activists and the media.

What the Restrictive Laws Entail:

Amendment to the Law “On Grants”

On April 16, 2025, “Georgian Dream” adopted the amendment to the “Law on Grants” in the third reading. According to the amendments:

The grant provider (donor) must apply to the Government of Georgia to receive consent for the issuance of a grant;
The grant recipient, if receiving a grant without consent, will be fined double the amount of the grant;
The Anti-Corruption Bureau is granted additional powers, such as—the right to request a financial report from a person, as well as the right to question a physical person;
The Anti-Corruption Bureau will be able to request “special category personal data” from public institutions, physical persons, and legal entities.

Non-governmental organizations responded to the amendment to the “Law on Grants” with a joint statement. “This law, by its essence and expected result, is an act of persecution against the people and aims to leave citizens face-to-face with the ruling party’s punitive system and prohibit international society’s support for them,” states the NGO declaration.

“Foreign Agents Registration Act” [FARA]

On April 1, 2025, the “Georgian Dream” parliament approved the “Foreign Agents Registration Act” [FARA]. The new law introduces the term “agent of a foreign principal.” According to the law’s definition, this may include an employee of an information service who “acts in Georgia for the benefit or interest of a foreign principal.” According to the law’s requirement, the registration application must be submitted to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which the law grants broad authority, including the right to request any information “based on national security and public interests.” Unlike other laws restricting media adopted by the “Georgian Dream” parliament, violation of FARA’s requirements will lead to both financial sanctions and up to five years of imprisonment. The adoption of FARA was assessed as a law restricting independent civil organizations and the media. “The ‘Georgian Dream,’ at first glance, appears to want to adopt the seemingly inappropriate FARA for controlling public and media organizations due to the strict criminal legal mechanisms provided for in the law and the selective and politically motivated application of the law at the individual level. Representatives of the ruling team openly point this out, including Irakli Kobakhidze, Shalva Papuashvili, and Mamuka Mdinaradze. In contrast to the American reality, the ruling team envisions and imagines that it will use the instrumentalization of the American-named law to damage civil society, without the firmly established guarantees of protecting independent courts and freedom of expression and association in Georgia,” states the declaration of the Social Justice Center.

Amendments to the Law “On Broadcasting”

On the very day FARA was adopted, April 1, 2025, “Georgian Dream” adopted amendments to the “Law on Broadcasting.” According to the amendment, foreign funding of broadcasters was completely prohibited, and the authority of the regulatory body, the National Communications Commission, was significantly increased, specifically bringing journalists’ professional activities into the sphere of regulation. According to the amendments introduced to the law, a broadcaster is prohibited from receiving direct or indirect funding and a foreign force is prohibited from purchasing services from a broadcaster, except for advertising or product placement. According to the amendment, broadcasters are prohibited from receiving direct or indirect funding in exchange for placing social advertising. According to the law, a foreign force is considered: a) a subject constituting a system of authority of a foreign state; b) a physical person who is not a citizen of Georgia; c) a legal entity that is not founded under the legislation of Georgia; d) an organizational unit or other type of association of persons that is founded under the law of a foreign state and/or international law. The amendment also introduces detailed regulations regarding television and radio broadcasting standards, including due accuracy of fact and the right of reply. Additionally, regulations are added concerning the fairness and impartiality of fact, the inviolability of private life, the obtaining and transmission of information using covert methods, the coverage of armed conflict, accidents and other emergency situations, and specific issues regarding the protection of minors.

“Transparency International Georgia” declares that these laws threaten the existence of critically-minded independent media.

Along with these laws, since 2024, the Law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence,” also known as the “Russian Law,” has been in effect in Georgia, which “Georgian Dream” adopted last year despite widespread public opposition and international criticism, and which aims to register non-governmental and media organizations whose income exceeds 20% from foreign organizations as organizations carrying out the interests of a “foreign force.”

While covering a protest rally, “Formula” journalist Liza Tsitsishvili was arrested and soon released

On November 5, 2025, during a protest rally in Tbilisi, the police arrested “Formula” TV company journalist Liza Tsitsishvili. At the time of the arrest, the journalist was performing her professional duties—interviewing rally participants. Video footage recorded by journalists present at the scene shows the police forcibly putting Liza Tsitsishvili into a car. The voices of other journalists can be heard in the video—they tell the police that Liza Tsitsishvili is their colleague; the police reply, “We’ll figure it out.” Liza Tsitsishvili was released ten minutes after her arrest. She says they apologized to her.

This is the second instance in a short period where a journalist is first detained and then released with an apology. On October 24, “Publika” online publication journalist Basti Mgaloblishvili was arrested near her home and released only a few hours later. She was told they had mistaken her for someone else. This is also the second instance where a journalist was detained while performing her professional duties at a rally. Two days before this incident, on November 3, “Media Checker” journalist Ninia Kakabadze was arrested on her way home, despite having a press badge, covering the rally, and having photo and video evidence confirming this.

Since October 19, 2025, after the “Georgian Dream” parliament adopted another set of repressive changes through an accelerated procedure, a total of 12 media representatives have been arrested for participating in, and in some cases covering, the ongoing protest on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi. Administrative imprisonment was applied to most of them.

The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics calls the frequent detentions of journalists “show detentions aimed at intimidating journalists” and urges the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) to stop the persecution and harassment of journalists, and to properly inform its employees of journalists’ rights and instruct them to protect and respect those rights before sending them on assignment.

“MediaChecker” journalist Ninia Kakabadze was arrested while covering a protest rally

On November 3, 2025, the police arrested Ninia Kakabadze, a journalist for the Media Platform “Media Checker” of the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics. That day, the journalist was at the rally with a press identification badge; she was performing her professional duties. Ninia Kakabadze was arrested while returning home. She was taken to the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Tbilisi. The journalist recounts that for a long time, she was not allowed to call her minor child. The journalist was released a few hours after the arrest. Ninia Kakabadze is accused of artificially blocking the road. The Tbilisi City Court started deliberation on her case on November 4, but postponed the hearing until November 12.

Since October 19, 2025, after the “Georgian Dream” parliament adopted another set of repressive changes through an accelerated procedure, 11 media representatives have been arrested for participating in, and in some cases covering, the ongoing protest on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi. Administrative imprisonment was applied to most of them.

The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics considers the arrest of Ninia Kakabadze and other journalists while performing their professional duties as an attempt to pressure independent media and suppress critical voices. The Charter demands the immediate cessation of administrative proceedings against its media platform “Media Checker’s” journalist, Ninia Kakabadze, and the annulment of the drawn-up administrative offense protocol.

A member of the supervisory board of a state company and a relative of a businessman close to “Georgian Dream” threatened a “TV Pirveli” journalist once again

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.

After Mzia Amaglobeli received the Sakharov Prize, pro-government media once again tried to discredit the journalist

On October 22, Mzia Amaghlobeli, the founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, who has been imprisoned for more than nine months, received the European Union’s highest human rights honor, the Sakharov Prize. This recognition of the journalist was followed by yet another attempt by pro-government television stations to discredit her.

Imedi TV published a series of propaganda-style social media posts about Mzia Amaghlobeli’s receipt of the Sakharov Prize. Among them were posts highlighting the Prime Minister from the Georgian Dream party referring to the journalist as a “foreign agent.”

Rustavi 2 published photos of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili together with Mzia Amaghlobeli and included a quote from Saakashvili about the journalist in the accompanying text – an apparent attempt to associate Amaghlobeli and her work with a political party.

Alongside Mzia Amaghlobeli, the Sakharov Prize was also awarded to imprisoned Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut. The Sakharov Prize honors individuals, groups, or organizations that have made an outstanding contribution to the defense of freedom of expression.

Another attempt by the Speaker of Parliament to discredit Netgazeti

On October 25, the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, once again tried to discredit Netgazeti. In a post published on his social media account, Shalva Papuashvili referred to Netgazeti as “a propaganda media outlet supporting terrorists.”

Papuashvili attached to his post a screenshot of a Netgazeti article in which the outlet referred to Zviad Kvaratskhelia, who was detained during a pro-European rally, as a “prisoner of conscience.” It was precisely this term that angered the Speaker of Parliament from the Georgian Dream party. Critical media outlets, including Netgazeti, often use the term “prisoner of conscience” when reporting on those detained during pro-European demonstrations.

Shalva Papuashvili frequently attempts to discredit critical media outlets, including the online platform Netgazeti, through his social media posts.

A Georgian Dream representative verbally attacked journalists from TV Pirveli and Formula

On October 31, Georgian Dream representative from Tbilisi City Council, Otar Chrdileli, verbally abused journalists from TV companies “Formula” and “Pirveli”.

Otar Chrdileli told the journalists that they did not leave a “normal impression” mentally. The journalists asked Chrdileli questions about those detained during pro-European protests. The Georgian Dream representative also called critical TV channels “propagandists”.

The Georgian Public Broadcaster has imposed a disciplinary sanction on Kakha Melikidze for the second time

On October 25, Kakha Melikidze, the director of the on-air equipment and technology group at the Georgian Public Broadcaster, wrote on social media that he had received another warning from the channel and would be fined 30% of his November salary.

Melikidze noted that the reason for this was an interview he gave to the international publication Internazionale. In the interview, he spoke about the suspension of Georgia’s EU accession talks by Georgian Dream’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and the developments surrounding Channel One.

“I received a second warning, and it will probably be over soon, and I will be fired from the Public Broadcaster,” Melikidze wrote on Facebook.

The Public Broadcaster first imposed disciplinary sanctions on Kakha Melikidze in April, along with other journalists critical of the channel. At that time, the channel’s management considered the employees’ actions to be “calling into question the broadcaster’s editorial independence and impartiality through statements disseminated in public space and, as a result, causing reputational damage to the employer.”