RSF Condemns Georgia’s Entry Bans for French Journalists as Deliberate Strategy to Intimidate Reporters
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based press freedom watchdog, condemned denial of entry into Georgia for freelance photographer Jérôme Chobeaux and journalist Clément Girardot, both of whom had reported extensively on post-election protests in the country. The watchdog called on the EU and France to “exert pressure on the Georgian government.”
Despite having worked in Georgia for over a decade, Clément Girardot was denied entry on February 12, 2025, without any valid reason. His appeal was rejected by the Ministry of Interior and a court hearing is scheduled for June 23, said the RSF. The Georgian Ombudsman has denounced serious irregularities in the judicial process and a disproportionate violation of the journalist’s fundamental rights, it adds.
On April 10 another media representative, photojournalist Jérôme Chobeaux filed a complaint against his recent arbitrary expulsion at the Georgian border, a move that echoes the case of Clément Girardot, who faced a similar ban two months earlier. As a freelance photographer for the Italian agency NurPhoto, Jérôme Chobeaux covered the post-election protests in Georgia for more than two months before briefly returning to France. When he tried to re-enter Tbilisi on March 30, he was stopped at the airport, held for several hours without access to his phone or luggage, and then deported to Athens. The border officials demanded immediate cash payment for two fines of 5,000 GEL (about 1,650 EUR) each, without providing any explanation or evidence. An officer later told him that he wouldn’t be allowed to enter the country “even if he paid” because of an order from “higher up”.
Jeanne Cavelier, Head of the RSF Eastern Europe and Central Asia Desk, denounced what she called a “deliberate strategy to intimidate reporters” amid growing concerns over press freedom and media repression in the country.” She added: “RSF firmly condemns these abusive expulsions, urges the ruling party to uphold Georgia’s press freedom commitments, and calls on France and the European Union to exert pressure on the Georgian government.”
It notes that Girardot who has been working with international print outlets such as Le Monde, Society and Al Jazeera, for the past few months focused on Georgia’s protest movement and the subsequent crackdown. “That may be what led the authorities to place me on a ‘red list,’” RSF quotes Giraradot. On 12 February, returning from a trip to France, he was stopped at passport control, summoned by a police officer after a long wait, and sent back without explanation, citing “the other reasons” from the list of the reasons for denial of entry. Though the journalist has tried to get more information through the French embassy and a local lawyer, the Georgian authorities have remained silent about the real reason for his expulsion.
The media watchdog press release stresses that the bans are illustrative of the authorities’ broader arbitrary restrictions on reporters. RSF highlights that since the parliamentary elections of 26 October 2024, journalists covering the demonstrations have faced increasing repression — including police violence, legal threats, arrests and forced removals. Prior to the cases of Chobeaux and Girardot, Czech reporter Ray Baseley and Swiss photographer Stephan Goss were also turned away at the Georgian border just ahead of the elections.
Also Read:
- 19/12/2024 – RSF: Shocking Impunity for Violence Against Reporters in Georgia
- 04/12/2024 – International Press Groups Demand Immediate Action Amid Journalist Assaults in Tbilisi
- 25/10/2024 – Final Findings of CoE Press Freedom Mission to Georgia
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