On March 28, 2025, during a protest taking place in front of the parliament, police officers obstructed a journalist from the online media outlet April from performing her professional duties.
April‘s journalist, Nata Uridia, was recording the protest on her mobile phone when police officers shoved her. In a video released by April, a police officer can be seen telling the journalist, “Step aside,” before shoving her.
From the start of the protests on November 28, 2024, until March 28, 2025, a total of 154 cases of violations of media representatives’ rights during protests have been documented.
On March 30, 2025, Italian media outlet NurPhoto’s photojournalist Jérôme Chobeau was denied entry into Georgia.
This is not the first time journalists have been refused entry into Georgia:
- On February 12, 2025, journalist Clément Girardeau was denied entry at the Georgian border.
- On December 30, 2024, Belgian journalist Witse De Geest was not allowed to enter Georgia.
- On October 26, 2024, IFJGlobal journalist Stefan Goss was denied entry.
- On September 16, 2024, Belarusian journalist and activist Andrei Mialeshka was refused entry into Georgia.
The international press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders responded to these incidents, criticizing the decisions and stating that journalists are being punished for covering protest rallies.
On April 30, 2025, Formula TV journalists Eliso Jariashvili and Tata Forakishvili received notifications that their parliamentary accreditations had been suspended for one month.
In both cases, the journalists were attempting to obtain answers to critical questions from Georgian Dream party MPs. The parliamentary administration deemed this a violation of the “Rules for Accrediting Media Representatives in the Parliament of Georgia.”Tata Forakishvili’s accreditation was suspended at the request of Georgian Dream MP Nino Tsilosani, while Eliso Jariashvili’s suspension was initiated by MP Archil Gorduladze, also from the ruling party.
On April 26, 2025, TV Pirveli aired an investigative report by journalist Maka Andronikashvili concerning a construction permit allegedly obtained through corrupt means on Levan Aleksidze Street.
During filming, the crew—journalist Maka Andronikashvili and her cameraman—were verbally abused and threatened with physical violence by Tamaz Kharaidze, the central figure in the investigation.
On April 24, 2025, Publika‘s reporter Mindia Gabadze was removed from a court session.
Judge Davit Tetrauli expelled the journalist from the courtroom for asking a question. Gabadze was covering the trial of businessman Giorgi Chkheidze.
This is not the first time Mindia Gabadze has faced interference while carrying out his professional duties. Previously, unidentified individuals physically assaulted him on Rustaveli Avenue, and nearby police officers failed to respond.
The removal of journalists from courtrooms without any justification is also increasingly being seen as part of a broader, troubling trend.
On April 17, 2025, Indigo journalist Saba Sordia was fined 2,500 GEL by Tbilisi City Court Judge Zviad Tsekvava. The journalist had been charged with disobedience to police.
Saba Sordia was detained on April 6 near Metro Station in Tbilisi. At the time of his arrest, he was not carrying out journalistic duties. According to his lawyer, Mariam Kavelashvili, the journalist was stopped for a “superficial inspection” and, after presenting his ID, was asked to fully open his bag. When Sordia responded that he would open the bag pockets himself, this was interpreted as noncompliance. By that point, the police already knew he was a journalist by profession.
Following his arrest, Saba Sordia spent 48 hours in a pretrial detention facility. He later stated that officers in the patrol car attempted to humiliate him over an earring he was wearing. His work-issued GoPro camera was also confiscated. The first court hearing in his case took place on April 8, and the verdict was announced on April 17.
The Media Advocacy Coalition has called this yet another instance of repressive policies targeting the media.
On April 17, 2025, the management of the First Channel of the Georgian Public Broadcaster imposed disciplinary sanctions on three employees who have criticized the channel’s editorial policy, which they allege is biased in favor of the government. The employees are: Realuri Sivrtse (Real Space) editor Tukha Kvinikadze, executive producer of the Weekend Show Tamar Chincharauli, and Weekend Show correspondent Ana Abakelia. The disciplinary orders were signed by the broadcaster’s director, Tinatin Berdzenishvili.
According to the orders, the employees were sanctioned for “calling into question the broadcaster’s editorial independence and impartiality through statements made in the public sphere, thereby causing reputational harm to the employer.” The sanction is effective for one year. If the employees continue to criticize the channel during this period, they risk dismissal.
With these latest actions, disciplinary sanctions have now been issued to a total of seven employees at the Public Broadcaster. On April 11, similar warnings were given to Realuri Sivrtse journalist Tamar Mshvenieradze and anchor Ioseb Katsitadze, as well as technical director and part-time sports director Kakha Melikidze, and branding and promotion director Irma Chubinidze. That same day, two of the channel’s prominent on-air personalities were dismissed for also criticizing the broadcaster’s editorial stance.
On April 12, 2025, Tabula news agency journalist Luka Katsitadze was fined 5,000 GEL for the alleged “illegal blocking of the road.”
The online outlet reports that Luka Katsitadze was performing his professional duties on Shota Rustaveli Avenue on April 12. The publication also notes that this is not the first instance in which journalists have been fined without legitimate grounds.
Center for Media, Information and Social Research has documented dozens of such cases.
The management of the First Channel of the Georgian Public Broadcaster has imposed disciplinary sanctions on four employees who have publicly criticized the channel’s editorial policy, accusing it of bias in favor of the government.
The employees are: journalist Tamar Mshvenieradze and anchor Ioseb Katsitadze from the program Realuri Sivrtse (Real Space), technical director and part-time sports channel director Kakha Melikidze, and branding and promotion director Irma Chubinidze.
Ioseb Katsitadze shared the disciplinary document on social media. According to the document, he is being sanctioned for “calling into question the broadcaster’s editorial independence and impartiality through public statements, thereby causing reputational harm to the employer.” The notice states that if Katsitadze repeats such conduct within the next 12 months, he will be dismissed. It is presumed that the same consequence may apply to the other three employees if they continue their criticism.
Katsitadze, Mshvenieradze, and Chubinidze are members of the Defenders of the Public Broadcaster movement and have been speaking out in recent months about political influence within the channel. On February 3, 2025, at a meeting of the broadcaster’s board of trustees, Kakha Melikidze publicly stated that the channel’s management interfered with his editorial work and repeatedly requested the on-air appearance of public officials during match broadcasts.
Today, April 11, it was also announced that the Public Broadcaster has dismissed two of its prominent on-air personalities, Nino Zautashvili and Vasil Ivanov-Chikovani, who had likewise criticized the station’s editorial policies.
On April 6, 2025, journalist Irina Makaridze, reporting for the newspaper “Qronika+” and the news agency “CNews“, was covering ongoing protest on Shota Rustaveli Avenue when she was fined 5,000 GEL by police for “illegally blocking the road.”
The journalist plans to appeal the fine.
Center for Media, Information and Social Research has documented dozens of similar cases.
