The Media Advocacy Coalition responds to the latest fining of the television company “Formula” by the Communications Commission and strongly condemns the legal and political persecution directed against the media. Such actions aimed at independent media pose a direct threat to freedom of expression and the media environment in the country.
According to the controversial decision adopted on July 17, the Communications Commission, based on media monitoring by the Media Services Regulation Department, fined “Formula” 5,000 GEL. The regulator deemed that the television company violated the Law on Broadcasting. The Commission classified the systematic use of terms in news broadcasts such as “Dream Government,” “Dream Prosecutor’s Office,” “Repressive Laws,” and “Repressions of the Dream Regime” as a legal violation.
With this decision, the Commission has once again grossly interfered with the media’s editorial independence and carried out content-based censorship. This is not the first time the Communications Commission has sanctioned TV “Formula” as well as other independent media while implementing repressive legislation. Fining broadcasters for critical expression and editorial policy is part of a deliberate, dangerous trend aimed at restricting narratives unfavorable to “Georgian Dream.” This decision has once again demonstrated that the regulatory body, whose independence is written only on the pages of the Constitution and legislation, actually operates under the influence of “Georgian Dream” and is one of the repressive tools for establishing censorship in the country.
Today’s decision was supported by four members of the Commission, namely: Goga Gulordava (Chairman), Natia Kukuladze, Ekaterine Imedadze, and Ivane Makharadze. The fifth member, Ani Vazagashvili, did not attend the meeting. She recently joined the agency, and before that, similar to the Chairman, worked at TV “Imedi,” a station loyal to “Georgian Dream” that has been sanctioned. Just like the commissioners, the regulator’s structural units, including the Media Services Regulation Department led by Konstantine Koridze, are loyal executors of the censorship policy directed against independent media.
The Media Advocacy Coalition expresses its full solidarity with TV “Formula” and all independent media outlets or journalists operating in the country who, even under the current pressure, continue to fulfill their professional duties, defend editorial freedom, and ensure the public remains informed.
