Georgian independent media marks May 3 - World Press Freedom Day - amid a continuous struggle for survival and unwavering resistance. It is also noteworthy that 2026 became a precedent-setting year for Georgian media, as for the first time in history, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on two major pro-government propaganda television channels - Imedi TV and POSTV - for the deliberate dissemination of false information about Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine and for spreading Russian propaganda.

Despite numerous challenges, extremely limited material and technical resources, and repeated attempts by the Georgian Dream government to silence them, Georgia’s critical independent media outlets continue to resist the repressive environment created by the regime and actively fulfill their fundamental mission - to properly inform the public.

The pressure on critical media is clearly reflected in alarming statistics from recent years, which document hundreds of cases involving various forms of attacks against journalists, violence, threats, and obstruction of journalistic work. The first four months of 2026 have been no exception in this regard. In the January-April period alone, Transparency International Georgia recorded approximately 60 such incidents. The vast majority of crimes committed against journalists remain uninvestigated, and perpetrators have not been brought to justice. This entrenched culture of impunity further encourages such incidents and makes journalistic work increasingly vulnerable.

The extremely difficult working environment facing independent media in the country is also highlighted in the report published on April 30 by the international journalists’ rights organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF). According to the report, Georgia’s position in the global Press Freedom Index fell by 21 places, ranking 135th out of 180 countries.

Transparency International Georgia identified three main categories among the various forms of violence and pressure directed against journalists, which most clearly illustrate the hostile environment in which representatives of independent media are forced to carry out their professional duties. These include: threats, physical attacks, and obstruction of journalistic activities; the use of the judiciary and law enforcement systems against the media; and the Communications Commission’s actions against independent media outlets. Other forms of interference are reflected in the overall statistics.

Presented below are only some of the incidents documented in 2026:

Threats, Physical Attacks, and Obstruction of Journalistic Activities

• On January 17, Davit Kashiashvili, a journalist at Formula TV and host of the program Saturday Formula, received a threatening message on social media after the program aired a report concerning the alleged involvement of one of Georgian Dream’s leading propagandists, Goga Khaindrava, in corruption schemes.
• On January 26, while carrying out her professional duties near the building of the State Security Service of Georgia, Nano Chakvetadze, a journalist with Formula TV, had her phone confiscated by employees of the investigative agency, who deleted the recorded footage and threatened her with arrest.
• On February 9, in Tbilisi, near the Parliament building, an unidentified man threatened Mindia Gabadze and Mariam Nikuradze, journalists from the online media outlets Publika and OC Media.
• On February 11, in Tbilisi, near the Paragraph Tbilisi hotel, a journalist from the online media outlet Publika was obstructed while carrying out professional duties during an event organized by the Iranian Embassy in Georgia. An unidentified individual dressed in traditional Georgian attire forcibly took the journalist’s phone and threw it away, after which the journalist was compelled to delete the recorded material.
• In early April, a filming crew from Mtis Ambebi and Sakartvelos Ambebi traveled to the Khada Valley to cover problems related to the construction of the Kvesheti-Kobi road project, where they were confronted by individuals present at the site. The journalists’ movement was restricted, they were verbally abused, and demanded to stop filming. One of the individuals also threatened them with death.
• On April 11, Hungarian journalist László Róbert Bese, who lives in Georgia and is critical of the policies of Viktor Orbán, stated that during a visit to the Hungarian Consulate in Tbilisi, he was met by an unidentified woman who questioned him and threatened him with imprisonment.
• For the past several months, the regional broadcaster Trialeti TV has been speaking out about pressure and attempts by the authorities to restrict its operations. According to the television company, the repeated seizure orders placed on its financial accounts over the past year are part of this effort.

The Judiciary and Law Enforcement System Against Independent Media

Particularly alarming is the harmful practice of Georgian Dream using the judiciary and law enforcement systems against independent media - a trend that has become increasingly pronounced in recent years and has turned into an active instrument for suppressing critical voices. One of the clearest examples of this is the initiation of administrative proceedings against media representatives while performing their professional duties, under the pretext of so-called “road blockages,” followed by fines and the freezing of their bank accounts. Although a significant number of such cases are ultimately terminated by the courts, they should be viewed as attempts to intimidate and exert pressure on media representatives, as their ultimate aim is to foster self-censorship among journalists and create a so-called “chilling effect.”

• On January 16, Tozu Gulmamedli, a journalist with the online media outlet Mautskebeli, was fined 5,000 GEL. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia alleged that she had participated in so-called “road blocking” near the Parliament building in August 2026.
• On February 18, in connection with the so-called “call centers” case, Eliso Kiladze, editor of the newspaper Kronika Plus, was arrested on charges of fraud and money laundering. She remains in pre-trial detention, and despite high public interest in the case, her court hearings are closed to the media. The prosecution justified this decision by citing the need to protect the safety of witnesses and their family members, a rationale that the defense disputes. The detained journalist does not admit guilt and has linked her arrest to what she describes as retaliation by the authorities for her exposure of what she calls “fabricated charges” in a high-profile murder case.
• On April 4, Azerbaijani investigative journalist Afgan Sadygov was detained in Tbilisi and, on April 5, deported to Azerbaijan, despite a temporary measure issued by the European Court of Human Rights prohibiting Georgia from transferring him to Azerbaijan. The detention raised concerns about a possible informal understanding between the Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities. This was particularly notable as, shortly before his arrest, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor’s Office unexpectedly dropped all charges against him and closed the criminal case. Two days later, Sadygov was detained in Tbilisi late on Saturday night and deported to Azerbaijan early on Sunday morning.
• On March 19, it became known that Goga Khaindrava, a propagandist aligned with Georgian Dream, has filed a lawsuit against Formula TV, seeking 10,000 GEL in moral damages and a retraction of reports concerning his alleged involvement in corruption schemes. It is noteworthy that representatives of the ruling party and individuals close to it have increasingly used so-called SLAPP lawsuits (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) against critical media outlets. The aim of these lawsuits is to silence journalists, unlawfully restrict freedom of expression, and impose censorship through legal proceedings. At present, more than 40 such cases have been recorded in Georgia.
• In March and April, the Tbilisi City Court reviewed several administrative cases brought against journalists under the pretext of so-called “blocking of roads and sidewalks.” Among those affected were Mariam Kuprava from Tabula, Mariam Dzidzaria from Netgazeti, photographer Giorgi Tarkhnishvili, and Ninia Kakabadze from Media Checker. All of them were carrying out their professional duties at the time, in different locations and at different moments.
• In April, under the pretext of so-called “road blocking,” the bank accounts of journalists from the television channels Formula TV and TV Pirveli - Liza Tsitsishvili and Maka Chikhladze - were frozen.
• On April 1, it became known that the Tbilisi City Court rejected a lawsuit filed by Nanuka Kajaya, Natalia Kajaya, and Mariam Gaprindashvili - journalists from TV Pirveli - against the British-sanctioned pro-government propaganda television channel POSTV. The journalists had sought a retraction of claims disseminated by the channel alleging that they were financed by Temur Chkonia, the director of Coca-Cola Bottlers Georgia.
• On April 15 and 20, it also became known that the Tbilisi City Court rejected the lawsuits filed by six former employees of the Georgian Public Broadcaster, who had sought to have their dismissals from work declared unlawful.

Communications Commission Against Independent Media

For many years, the Communications Commission of Georgia has been used as another instrument for the pressure and silencing of critical media. This threat has further intensified since April of last year, when the Commission was granted the authority to regulate the content of broadcasters. The regulator began actively exercising this power on April 2, 2026, shortly after the United Kingdom sanctioned two pro-government propaganda television channels, Imedi TV and POSTV, for disseminating and supporting Russian propaganda.

The Commission selectively monitored programs of critical broadcasters Formula TV and TV Pirveli, subsequently issuing written warnings to media outlets for the use of terms such as “regime,” “Georgian Dream prosecutor’s office,” “oligarch’s team,” “Georgian Dream government,” “Ivanishvili’s prime minister,” “Ivanishvili’s MP,” “Georgian Dream police,” “so-called education reform,” “the night of hunting activists,” and others. In the event of any further such “violations,” the television channels face the risk of financial sanctions, as well as suspension or revocation of their broadcasting licenses. At the same time, this decision by the Commission sets a concerning precedent for freedom of speech and expression, effectively establishing direct censorship.

Earlier, on January 22, the Communications Commission of Georgia issued a written warning to the regional community broadcaster Radio Marneuli regarding a grant received from the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy (NED), amounting to 32,541.60 GEL. On February 16, the Commission also initiated administrative proceedings against the television channel Caucasia TV over a donation received from the United States.

Conclusion

The cases outlined above are accompanied by systematic verbal attacks on critical media by representatives of the Georgian Dream government, as well as an ongoing discrediting campaign carried out by its affiliated propaganda outlets. Critical media organizations are frequently referred to using derogatory labels, while their reporting is framed as “fake news” in an effort to erode public trust. Overall, as in other authoritarian regimes, the central objective of the various forms of pressure exerted by the Georgian Dream authorities is to suppress, ultimately eliminate, independent, free, and alternative voices in the country and to impose censorship.