Since the contested parliamentary elections in October 2024, Georgia has experienced one of the most rapid and serious deteriorations of press freedom ever seen in an EU member state or candidate country, IPI and Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners warn.

As we mark World Press Freedom Day 2026, our organizations once again draw attention to the plight of independent media and journalists in Georgia, where the Russia-friendly ruling party has continued its intensifying clampdown over the past year. Our thoughts today are particularly with jailed journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, who has now been behind bars for one year and three months on politically motivated charges.

The Georgian Dream’s erosion of media freedom has been a driving factor in the unprecedented period of democratic backsliding in the country, which on paper remains a candidate for EU accession. Today, our organizations again call for urgent action from the European Union and the international community to support independent media and hold those responsible for this autocratic assault to be held accountable.

Since Georgia received EU candidate status in early December 2023, the Mapping Media Freedom Platform, the largest database for media freedom attacks in Europe, has documented 319 media freedom violations, affecting 555 journalists and media organisations, making Georgia one of the countries with the most rapid decline in media freedom in Europe.

In recent months, pressure on independent journalists intensified further, especially for the journalists reporting from rallies. In April, the bank accounts of two journalists including Maka Chikhladze (TV Pirveli) and Liza Tsitsishvili (Formula TV), both from government-critical outlets, were frozen. The freezes were tied to fines the journalists say they were never notified about, issued while they were reporting from rallies in the course of their work.

In 2025 alone, the MFRR documented 36 cases of journalists facing arbitrary fines, including 25 linked to covering demonstrations. In all 25 cases, journalists reported being fined despite clearly identifying themselves as members of the press while carrying out their work.

Since the ruling Georgian Dream party adopted restrictive amendments undermining freedom of expression in October 2025, police have detained dozens of protesters in Tbilisi, including journalists. Under the new legislation, vaguely defined offenses such as “artificially blocking a road” or “wearing a mask at a rally” are punishable by up to 15 days of administrative detention, with repeat offenses carrying sentences of up to one year in prison.

Following these changes, several journalists from independent media have faced imprisonment of up to 15 days for their reporting on rallies, including Mariam Dzidzaria from Netgazeti, Mariam Kuprava of Tabula, and Ninia Kakabadze from Mediachecker.ge.

While the complaints against Kuprava and Kakabadze were eventually dropped, proceedings against Dzidzaria remain ongoing, while Kakabadze was required to attend four hearings before the charges were dropped.

Read the full report here