In an open letter, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and 22 other organisations condemned the growing authoritarian tendencies and intensifying repression targeting independent media in Georgia. This includes refusing entry to foreign journalists, seen in the recent case of French photojournalist Marylise Vigneau, expelled without valid justification. The NGOs urge the European Union to take immediate action in response to these developments, which are incompatible with democratic values.
Arbitrary expulsions of journalists are becoming the norm in Georgia. Following the recent denial of entry to British journalist Will Neal on 20 May, and French reporters Clément Girardot and Jérôme Chobeaux earlier this year, French photojournalist Marylise Vigneau was detained upon arrival at Kutaisi airport on Wednesday, 11 June. Taken to an interrogation room, she was questioned with incongruous inquiries about her itinerary, her status as a tourist, and even the “not very French” first name of her husband. After several hours of detention with no clear explanation, she was put on a flight to Poland. “The air hostesses confided that this kind of denial of entry into Georgia happens every day,” Vigneau told RSF. “I believe I was on one of their infamous lists.” Her work documenting pro-democracy movements in Georgia has been published in Hot Mirror and The Eye of Photography.
“This latest incident is not isolated, but part of a systematic crackdown on both foreign and local journalists. Georgian authorities are seeking to lock down the information space by targeting anyone who documents civic movements. This authoritarian shift demands a strong and immediate response from the international community, particularly the European Union.
Institutionalised repression
RSF and 22 other organisations warn that the new laws adopted this year by the ruling Georgian Dream party will have concrete consequences and will reinforce state control over foreign funding and content dissemination. These legal provisions now allow authorities to shut down media outlets, censor their reporting, or prosecute their managers. Two opposition TV channels, Formula TV and TV Pirveli, have already been targeted for using terms such as “illegitimate regime” and “political prisoners”.
Since the contested and fraud-tainted parliamentary elections of October 2024, at least 28 journalists have been heavily fined for covering pro-European protests, in addition to ongoing cases of police violence against reporters. This is according to Mapping Media Freedom – a project by six European NGOs monitoring press freedom violations. The pre-trial detention of Mzia Amaghlobeli, a prominent figure of independent journalism in Georgia, also illustrates the government’s intent to silence dissenting voices.
In the joint letter, the signatories call on the ruling party to end its attacks on the media, repeal repressive laws, and immediately release Mzia Amaghlobeli. They also urge the international community and the European Union to put pressure on the Georgian authorities to halt this crackdown. Without a strong response, Georgia could lose its last remaining sources of independent news in the coming months – a serious blow to democracy in the region. Over the past two years, Georgia has fallen 37 places in the RSF World Press Freedom Index.
