Two Journalists Appeal Foreign Agents Law in Constitutional Court
On August 16, Gela Mtivlishvili, editor-in-chief of “Mtis Ambebi”, and Nino Zuriuashvili, investigative journalist with Studio Monitori, filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court against the Foreign Agents Law. This is the fourth lawsuit challenging the law adopted by the ruling Georgian Dream in the Constitutional Court, following the lawsuits of the President, opposition parties and 121 civil society organizations.
Mtivlishvili and Zuriashvili stated to journalists that the Russian-styled law creates “serious problems” for the media freedom, especially for the investigative journalism, the cornerstone of which is anonymity of the source.
Mtivlishvili said: “In this lawsuit, the focus is more on investigative media. We are demanding that several articles of the Russian law be repealed, but before a constitutional decision is made on this matter, we are demanding that the operation of several articles of this law be suspended”. “Our sources will be absolutely unprotected,” the journalist added, arguing that “men with guns” could now enter the organizations and get their hands on personal information, as they did during the Soviet repressions of 1937.
Notably, both journalists have been targeted directly by the GD representatives and/or supporters. Gela Mtivlishvili has been the target of GD criticism since his article on Shovi Landslide identified the ineffectiveness of government’s response to the tragedy. As for Nino Zuriashvili, she was one of the targets of the organized repressions against the law opposers and her car was vandalized with obscenities.
Also Read:
- 05/06/2024 – Live Blog: ‘Yes to Europe, No to Russian Law’ – Rallies Against Foreign Agents Bill
- 29/05/2024 – CSOs Announce Disobedience to Foreign Agents Law
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
