Statements

18 January, 2023

Media Advocacy Coalition considers the Verdict of Tbilisi Court of Appeal in the July 5 case alarming

Media Advocacy Coalition responds to the verdict [1] ruled by the Tbilisi Court of Appeal on January 16, 2023, according to which those convicted of committing organized group violence on media representatives on July 5, 2021, were acquitted, and the sentence imposed by the Court of First Instance was reduced. The verdict represents another step taken against journalists, freedom of expression, and democratic processes.

14 December, 2022

The government should bear responsibility for Mikheil Saakashvili's health condition

We, the signatory organizations, respond to the fact that the health condition of the third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has extremely worsened.

14 December, 2022

Civil society organizations appeal to the European Commission to increase oversight over Georgia’s implementation of 12 priorities

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European CommissionOlivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement

09 December, 2022

Statement regarding the International Anti-Corruption Day

December 9 is the International Anti-Corruption Day. Last year, Transparency International Georgia wrote that if left unchecked, corruption was expected to rise, which would cause more and more damage to the country, including creating more obstacles for its democratic development.

07 December, 2022

Court Judgments on Defamation against Media having signs of Kleptocracy

The judgment of the Tbilisi City Court that partially granted the claim of the Mayor of Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze, against TV Pirveli and the journalist Maia Mamulashvili constitutes a transition of the recent dangerous tendency of pressure on the media to a new stage, when representatives of the authorities use the court to oppress critical media.

22 November, 2022

Georgia is the Only Country that Has Yet to Join the OECD Anti-Corruption Assessment Process

On November 17, 2022, the Steering Group of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Anti-Corruption Network (OECD/ACN) endorsed the OECD/ACN Fifth Round Monitoring Assessment Framework, which will examine the anti-corruption environment in OECD/ACN member countries.

04 November, 2022

Amendments to the Local Self-Government Code of Georgia Undermine the Role of City Councils

Amendments to the Local Self-government Code, initiated by members of the parliamentary majority, significantly weaken the role of city councils, thereby impeding the development of local democracy, and are tailored to interests of the ruling party, Georgian Dream, alone.

02 November, 2022

Statement regarding plans to set up a new Anti-Corruption Bureau

On October 28, the Legal Issues Committee at the Parliament of Georgia initiated a draft law that provides for the creation of a new body – LEPL Anti-Corruption Bureau.

02 November, 2022

The Appellate Court Upheld Nika Gvaramia’s Imprisonment on a Politically Motivated Case

Today, on November 2, the judges of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals, Merab Jorbenadze, Lavrenti Maghlakelidze and David Mamiseishvili found Nika Gvaramia, the former director of "Rustavi 2" and the founder of "TV Mtavari", guilty of abuse of power (two episodes - the so-called commercial airtime sale and the so-called vehicle episode). As a final sanction, he was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months imprisonment.

27 October, 2022

Gogashvili’s allegations of the collaboration between the Georgian and Russian intelligence services need to be investigated

Referring to the investigation aired in Nodar Meladze's Saturday program on TV Pirveli on September 10, where the detained former high-ranking State Security Service (SSG) official Ioseb Gogashvili accused the government and Head of the SSG at the time, current Minister of Internal Affairs - Vakhtang Gomelauri, of collaboration with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

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