The Partner Organisations of the Council of Europe‘s Platform for the Safety of Journalists and the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) recently completed a visit to Tbilisi, Georgia to assess the local media environment ahead of the upcoming elections. According to the mission, the situation in the country has “clearly regressed” in terms of media freedom and democracy.
During the two-day mission on October 1 and 2, the organizations met with media representatives, political parties, and civil society organizations. Jemimah Steinfeld of Index on Censorship stated during the October 2 briefing that the Foreign Agents Law passed by the ruling Georgian Dream party this year poses a threat to independent media. She also mentioned the recently passed anti-LGBT Law on Family Values and Protection of Minors, which she argued will restrict journalists from covering certain issues.
Steinfeld also noted the polarization of the media, the lack of pre-election debates, and concerns about the physical safety of journalists as challenges facing the media in Georgia. Ricardo Gutiérrez, secretary general of the European Federation of Journalists, expressed shock at the deterioration of media freedom and the violation of journalists’ rights in the country. He stated that attacks on civil society organizations and journalists, which he believes are directed by the government, have a systematic character and are not isolated incidents.
The mission was composed of organizations working on media rights, including Article 19, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), European Broadcasting Union (EBU), European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), European Federation of Journalists, Index on Censorship, International Press Institute (IPI), Justice for Journalists Foundation (JFJ), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The briefing remarks have been translated from the Georgian translation in the Euronews report.
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