Georgia

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 27 July 2001 press release: GEORGIAN JOURNALIST FOUND DEAD New York, July 27, 2001 — A popular 26-year old Georgian journalist was found dead in his Tbilisi apartment yesterday, according to local and international reports. Georgy Sanaya was shot once in the head at close range with a 9mm […]

(IPI/IFEX) – In a 27 July 2001 letter to Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, IPI strongly condemned the murder of Georgi Sanaia, a news presenter at the independent Rustavi-2 national television station and one of Georgia’s most popular television journalists. Sanaia, 25, who also hosted a late-night political discussion programme, was found dead in his flat […]

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is ARTICLE 19’s Memorandum on the Georgian Draft Changes to the Law on Communications and the Post relating to Licensing: MEMORANDUM ON THE DRAFT CHANGES TO THE LAW ON COMMUNICATIONS AND THE POST RELATING TO LICENCING IN THE REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA By ARTICLE 19 The Global Campaign Against Censorship April […]

(IPI/IFEX) – In a 3 April 2001 letter to Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, IPI expressed its alarm at the recent attacks on the Tbilisi newspaper “Meridiani” and its staff. According to IPI’s sources, when staff at the weekly “Meridiani” returned to work on 1 April they discovered their offices had been broken into during the […]

(IPI/IFEX) – In a 5 March 2001 letter to President Eduard Shevardnadze, IPI strongly condemned the assault on a Georgian journalist. According to IPI’s sources, Tamaz Tsertsvadze, editor of the Tbilisi weekly newspaper “Meridiani”, was attacked near his home by a group of unknown individuals late in the evening on 24 February. Tsertsvadze was severely […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 24 October 2000 letter to President Eduard Shevardnadze, CPJ stated that it is gravely disturbed by the death of Italian radio journalist Antonio Russo, whose body was found on 16 October outside the capital, Tbilisi. Because of the highly suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, Russo’s colleagues in Tbilisi fear the journalist […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, RSF expressed outrage over the murder of Antonio Russo, an Italian radio journalist found dead on 16 October 2000 near Tbilisi. “We ask you to personally ensure that all necessary measures are taken to actively seek out and punish those who are responsible. We await […]

(HRW/IFEX) – The following is a 6 September 2000 Human Rights Watch press release: Georgia Lets Attacks on Religious Believers Go Unpunished (New York, September 6, 2000) Georgian authorities must stop the cycle of impunity for violence against religious minorities, Human Rights Watch said today. In a letter sent to Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, the […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In an 8 August 2000 letter to President Eduard Shevardnadze, CPJ expressed its outrage over the recent assault on Vasil Silagadze, a Georgian journalist who was apparently beaten up by local police officers after he published an article alleging corruption among high-ranking law enforcement officials, including the interior minister. On the night of […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, RSF expressed its indignation following the attack against Vassili Silagadze, a journalist with the private weekly “Eko Digest”. “We ask that you take the necessary measures to identify and prosecute the attackers,” said Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general. RSF also asked Georgian authorities to be […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 14 June 2000 letter to President Eduard Shevardnadze, CPJ expressed its great alarm about reports of official harassment, intimidation, and death threats against the host of a program on Georgian television. According to numerous local and international news reports, Akaki Gogichaishvili, who anchors the popular weekly program “60 Minutes” on the […]

**Updates IFEX alert of 1 March 2000** (WAN/IFEX) – In a 6 March 2000 letter to President Eduard Shevardnadze, WAN and the World Editors Forum, which represent more than 17,000 publications in ninety-three countries, expressed serious concern at the disputed takeover of the independent television station Telekanal 25 in the Ajarian capital of Batumi. According […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is urging Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze to order an investigation into the apparently illegal takeover of the independent television station Telekanal 25 in the Ajarian capital, Batumi. Late on the evening of 19 February 2000, former Batumi mayor and current Georgian parliamentarian Aslan Smirba forced three of Telekanal 25’s four owners to […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 23 September 1998, RSF expressed alarm at the 21 September 1998 beating of journalists Kote Vardzelashvili and Gogi Kavtaradze who were working for the non-governmental Liberty Institute. According to information obtained by RSF, the two were severely beaten and threatened by police in Tibilisi while attempting to interview Chief Mgebrishvili, the city’s […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – On 23 September 1998, CPJ expressed alarm at the 12 September 1998 beating of chief editor Lasha Nadareishvili and correspondent David Okropiridze of the popular independent weekly “Asaval-Dasavali”. The journalists were attacked by a group of five or six unidentified armed men at around 10 p.m. on a street corner in front of […]

(GDF/IFEX) – According to GDF, on 17 August 1998, a trial of journalist Amiran Meskheli’s suit against the Saburtali Military Commissariat of Tbilisi was held in Tbilisi (the capital city). The defendants did not appear before the court, but Chairman Ramaz Doidjashvili delivered a judgment ordering the temporary release of the journalist from military service […]