RSF: Press Freedom Violations in Georgia Reach ‘Unprecedented’ Levels, 600 Attacks in One Year
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Paris-based media watchdog, said press freedom violations in Georgia have reached “unprecedented levels,” documenting 600 attacks on the press in one year.
Noting that press freedom in Georgia has “sharply deteriorated” since November 28, 2024, when Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the suspension of EU integration process, RSF said it had recorded 600 cases of assaults, arbitrary fines, arrests, threats, suspensions of accreditation, and other types of attacks from October 2024 to 2025.
“This surge in abuse signals an unprecedented hardening and accelerated tightening of political control as Georgian authorities stray ever further from European democratic standards,” the watchdog said in a November 24 report.
“The Georgian authorities are pursuing a policy of intimidation, harassment, and the criminalization of independent journalism. RSF calls on the government to end the physical violence, threats, and abusive prosecutions, to investigate these abuses, and to restore suspended accreditations immediately,” Jeanne Cavelier, Head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, said, adding, “Georgia cannot credibly claim to be moving closer to the EU while trampling on press freedom, the rule of law and pluralism.”
While noting that violations have been recorded nationwide, the report identified Tbilisi as the epicenter, accounting for more than two-thirds of cases. It describes brutal physical assaults, obstruction of media covering protests, and fines issued for “blocking the road,” noting that police officers forcing journalists out of protest areas, “creating a widespread sense of powerlessness, ”remain the “principal perpetrators” of the violations recorded.
According to RSF, the most violently targeted media outlets are TV channels, particularly TV Pirveli, whose crews have been attacked more than 80 times in one year. Regarding online media, RSF singled out Publika and Batumelebi, founded by imprisoned journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, as among the most frequent targets of repression.
The report also highlighted the situation of foreign journalists, noting that entry bans to Georgia have multiplied.
The report also cites Georgian Dream’s adoption of restrictive legislation targeting the press, including the foreign agents law and amendments to the laws on broadcasting and grants, noting that they further increased the “potential criminalization” of media outlets.
“At the heart of this strategy is oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili,” RSF states. The organization recently named Ivanishvili one of the 2025 press freedom predators, saying he “plays a decisive role in determining the nature of political and economic pressure and in cultivating a climate of impunity.”
Georgia has fallen 37 places in the RSF World Press Freedom Index over the past two years, dropping to 114th out of 180 countries and territories.
Also Read:
- 26/03/2025 – Study Speaks of Unprecedented Media Repression in 2024 Amid Foreign Agents Law
- 05/03/2025 – Europe Press Freedom Report: Rapid Decline of Press Freedom in 2024 in Georgia
- 03/05/2024 – Georgia’s Ranking Drops 26 Places, Landing at 103rd in RSF Press Freedom Ranking
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