Georgia / Europe & Central Asia

  
Mzia Amaglobeli

Georgia upholds Mzia Amaglobeli’s 2-year prison sentence 

New York, November 18, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Georgian authorities to release journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, a prominent media manager, after a Georgian appeals court upheld a decision on November 18 that sentenced her to two years in prison.  The journalist, who has been widely recognized domestically and internationally as a political prisoner, reportedly plans to challenge…

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Restrictive laws on foreign funding are part of a sharp decline in press freedom under the Georgian Dream party, whose flags are seen here.

Georgian authorities probe press organizations under foreign funding laws

New York, October 3, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Georgian authorities to repeal restrictive new laws covering foreign donor grants as Georgian authorities open investigations into the funding of at least five independent news outlets and a leading press association. Earlier this year, the Georgian Dream party overhauled legislation governing the foreign donor funding on which many independent…

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Hungarian journalist László Mézes receives medical treatment for a cut to his face (right) amid scenes of violent clashes in the Georgian capital Tblisi on September 8, 2025.

In Georgia, 6 journalists attacked, robbed while covering protests

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…

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Mzia Amaglobeli

‘Outrageous’: Georgia sentences Mzia Amaglobeli to 2 years for slap

New York, August 6, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is horrified by the two-year sentence given to prominent Georgian media manager Mzia Amaglobeli on Wednesday, in a case previously denounced by CPJ and partners as “disproportionate and politicized.” “The outrageous two-year sentence meted out to widely respected journalist Mzia Amaglobeli is emblematic of Georgia’s increasing use…

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A reporter is thrown to the ground by a masked man in an assault on her TV crew during a live broadcast in 2024.

CPJ submission to UN shows significant media repression in Georgia

New York, July 31, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists and the Media Advocacy Coalition of Georgia have submitted a report on the state of press freedom and journalist safety in Georgia to the United Nations Human Rights Council ahead of January’s 51st Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session. The submission details a sharp decline in media…

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Mzia Amaglobeli

CPJ, partners call on Georgia to free Mzia Amaglobeli ahead of verdict

New York, July 31, 2025—Ahead of Friday’s expected verdict in the trial of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 13 other media and human rights groups called on Georgian authorities to drop the charge against her and release her. Amaglobeli, founder and director of award-winning independent news outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, has…

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A court sketch showing Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli’s trial on July 14. Amaglobeli (standing) gives testimony during the hearing attended by CPJ and partners. (Image: Ana Janelidze)

Georgia seizes 2 media outlets’ accounts amid trial of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli

New York, July 22, 2025—Georgian authorities seized the financial accounts of independent news outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti over tax arrears, days ahead of an expected verdict in the trial of the outlets’ director, Mzia Amaglobeli, who has been jailed since January on charges widely viewed as politically motivated. “The unwarranted seizure of Batumelebi and Netgazeti’s…

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A courtroom sketch of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli's heariing on Monday, July 14, 2025. Amaglobeli is seen standing at far right. (Illustration: Ana Janelidze)

Press freedom groups condemn hearing, demand release of Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli 

Batumi, Georgia, July 14, 2025一Monday’s court hearing in the case of Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli shows the disproportionate and politicized nature of the charges against her and she must be released immediately, said three international press freedom organizations whose representatives monitored the proceedings.  In response to the hearing, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), International…

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Georgia increasingly blocks entry to Western journalists amid authoritarian turn

New York, July 1, 2025—When British investigative journalist Will Neal was turned back at Georgia’s border with Armenia in May, he became the fifth of at least six European journalists in recent months to be denied entry into a country once seen as a regional leader for press freedom. Neal, who had lived in Georgia since 2022,…

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Journalists in a press room watch Mikheil Kavelashvili, Georgia's newly elected president and leader of the Georgian Dream party, take the oath of office during his swearing-in ceremony at the parliament building in Tbilisi, on December 29, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Shlamov)

CPJ, partners call for an end to Georgia’s assault on media, repeal of new laws

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 23 other press freedom and journalist organizations on June 17 in condemning Georgia’s deepening restrictions on the media, including several repressive new laws, and calling on the international community to pressure the ruling Georgian Dream party to end its suppression of the independent press. The statement warned that independent…

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