Georgia

(RSF/IFEX) – On 5 March 2004, television journalist Vakhtang Komakhidze was brutally beaten in the latest of a dozen incidents of harassment of the media in the autonomous republic of Ajaria that have occurred to date in 2004. His assailants were identified by a witness as belonging to the Ajarian special forces. RSF has called […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: GEORGIA: Journalist attacked New York, March 5, 2004 – Vakhtang Komakhidze, a reporter for the well-respected “60 Minutes” investigative journalism program on independent television station Rustavi-2, was brutally attacked today in the autonomous republic of Ajaria in southern Georgia. According to Akaki Gogichaishvili, the host of […]

(WAN/IFEX) – In a 24 February 2004 letter to President Mikheil Saakashvili, WAN and the World Editors Forum (WEF) condemned without reserve a series of attacks on the media since the November “Rose Revolution”. According to reports, some Georgian media outlets have been forced to close and several journalists have been attacked. Most recently, the […]

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release: GEORGIA: HARSH DEFAMATION LAWS MUST BE AMENDED ARTICLE 19 today released an analysis of Georgia’s harsh defamation laws in relation to international standards (1). We recommend the complete repeal of criminal defamation and significant amendment of the civil defamation laws. Georgian defamation law is […]

(IPI/IFEX) – The following is a 9 February 2004 IPI letter to President Mikheil Saakashvili: Mikheil Saakashvili President of Georgia Office of the President Rustaveli 29 300002 Tbilisi Georgia Fax: + (995 32) 99 86 90 / 99 96 30 Vienna, 9 February 2004 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of […]

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a joint 26 January 2004 ARTICLE 19 and PRESS NOW letter to the president of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, Aslan Abashidze: Aslan Abashidze President of Autonomous Republic of Adjara GEORGIA 26 January 2004 Dear Mr. President ARTICLE 19, the Global Campaign for Free Expression, and PRESS NOW are […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed concern about harassment of the media in the Adjara Autonomous Republic. Several journalists were recently physically attacked or prevented from working in the region, where a state of emergency was declared on 7 January 2004. Since the departure of former president Eduard Shevardnadze, authorities in the region have effectively refused […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has voiced concern about a rocket attack on 29 December 2003 that shook the Tbilisi headquarters of the television station Rustavi 2 and damaged the building’s façade but caused no injuries, although 15 journalists were inside at the time. “We fear that this attack was meant to put pressure on the television […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has voiced concern about a blast that shook the headquarters of the state television company in Tbilisi on the evening of 3 December 2003. The explosion caused damage but no injuries and did not interrupt broadcasts. “We call on the authorities to carry out a rapid and effective investigation to avoid creating […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed concern over the national Election Commission’s decision to cancel the accreditation of the country’s only truly independent television station, Rustavi 2, and stressed that Georgians needed impartial information during a time of serious political disturbances. The organisation said it was also worried about pressure exerted on the station by the […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: GEORGIA: Suspect convicted in television journalist’s murder New York, July 11, 2003-A Georgian court sentenced former police officer Grigol Khurtsilava on Wednesday, July 9, to a 13-year prison term for the July 2001 murder of popular television journalist Georgy Sanaya. Sanaya anchored “Night Courier,” a nightly […]

(JuHI/IFEX) – According to the Independent Association of Georgian Journalists (IAGJ), based in Tbilisi, Malkhaz Gulashvili, the president of the Georgian Times Media Holding company, was the recent target of a death threat. On 8 May 2003, Gulashvili told journalists that a high-ranking official had confided in him that someone was planning to kill him. […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 14 April 2003 CPJ press release: GEORGIA: Popular radio station attacked New York, April 14, 2003-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has recently learned about an attack on Dzveli Kalaki, a popular independent radio station in Kutaisi, a city in eastern Georgia. On the evening of March 28, four […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release, followed by the Georgian Supreme Court statement printed in the Tbilisi-based state-owned daily newspaper “Sakartvelos Respublika” (“The Republic Of Georgia”): GEORGIA: Supreme Court threatens independent TV station for exposing corruption New York, March 21, 2003-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned that the Georgian Supreme […]

(JuHI/IFEX) – According to information sent by JuHI’s partner in Georgia, the Independent Association of Georgian Journalists (IAGJ), on 7 December 2002, at 6:00 a.m. (local time), officers from the Georgian Special Security Services and Ministry of Internal Affairs detained about 100 Chechens living in the country. The detainees include a journalist from the independent […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 2 October 2002, RSF called for the punishment of police officers who issued deaths threats against a journalist and her family and went on a rampage at a television station in the western Georgian town of Zugdidi on 27 September, hours after the station broadcast criticism of the local police force. About […]