New York, September 10, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Georgian authorities to swiftly investigate attacks on at least six journalists reporting on anti-government protests in the capital, Tbilisi, over the last week.
Since November, dozens of journalists have been attacked, sometimes brutally, by police and masked attackers while reporting on mass protests against the ruling Georgian Dream party’s suspension of European Union accession talks.
“Against the background of extensive police violence against Georgian journalists covering the protests, the latest attacks — several of which appear to be by supporters of the ruling party — are deeply concerning,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Georgian authorities must ensure that all perpetrators of violence against the press are held to account.”
On the evening of September 8, groups of men, some wearing masks, clashed with protesters outside the campaign office of the Georgian Dream party-affiliated mayor of Tbilisi.
- Video showed Hungarian journalist László Róbert Mézes, in a vest marked ”Press,” with blood on his face and holding up a broken finger. He said that men came out of the office, stole his phone, and beat him, even though he was wearing a “Press” badge and identified himself as a journalist.
- Videos published by the online outlet Publika showed two men grabbed their reporters Keto Mikadze and Aleksandre Keshelashvili and stole their phones.
- One man threw water over Mariam Nikuradze, photojournalist and co-founder of independent outlet OC Media, as she was filming the events, the journalist told CPJ.
- Netgatezi reporter Ketevan Khutsishvili told CPJ she was filming individuals coming out of the office, throwing objects at the protesters, when several police officers and a plainclothes individual swore at her, dragged her away, and a police officer shoved her.
- During protests at the same site on September 3, a ruling party youth leader spat on Publika editor-in-chief Lika Zakashvili and another man struck her phone as she was filming them.
Parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili blamed the violence on “extremists” supported by the EU and accused “foreign-funded” media of organizing the “attack” on the party’s office.
CPJ emailed the police and the Georgian Dream party for comment but did not immediately receive any replies.