The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its affiliate in Georgia, the Independent Association of Georgian Journalists (IAGJ), strongly condemn the police violence and extreme brutality targeting journalists covering the demonstrations in Tbilisi since 28 November. We urge the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Vakhtang Gomelauri, to stop the violence and to identify and prosecute the perpetrators.
Thousands of citizens have taken to the streets in downtown Tbilisi for three consecutive nights after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the suspension of Georgia’s EU integration process until 2028. Georgian police have used water cannon and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators. Journalists covering the protests say they have been deliberately targeted by security forces, with many reporting that they were beaten and required hospitalization.
On 28-29 November, at least 35 journalists and media workers were attacked by the police during the protests. These attacks were reported to the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism. The vast majority of those injured were journalists from independent and government-critical media outlets based in Tbilisi. Multiple video recordings document the targeted violence against journalists and cameramen, in particular those exposing the police brutality.
According to RFE/RL, Media Ombudsman, a local NGO, has called on Georgia’s Special Investigation Service, a body tasked with probing the security forces and public officials, to launch an immediate investigation into the incidents, requesting they be classified under Article 154 (interference in journalistic activity) and Article 156 (prosecution) of the country’s Criminal Code. The NGO has also demanded separate investigations into cases involving journalists.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, a critic of the ruling Georgian Dream party, condemned the “brutal and disproportionate attacks on the Georgian people and media,” comparing the crackdown to “Russian-style repression.”
“The people of Georgia have the right to demonstrate,” said EFJ President Maja Sever. “And journalists have the right to cover these demonstrations without being harassed, intimidated and beaten by the police. The forces of law and order are clearly trying to impose censorship, to prevent public opinion from being informed about the ultra-violent repression of anti-government demonstrations”.
“We condemn the permanent attacks on media workers covering civil protests,” added Zviad Pochkhua, IAGJ President. “Special forces are targeting opposition media. It is alarming that no previous cases were investigated. Government controlled media, including the public broadcaster GPB, is covering the events from the biased perspective of the ruling party. Journalists, both from pro-governmental or independent media, are under massive terror. We call on the EU to take action to prevent the kind of totalitarian drift that has occurred in Belarus”.
Source: EFJ
