The Media Advocacy Coalition condemns the Communications Commission’s latest legal action against broadcaster TV Pirveli and denounces the systemic pressure being placed on independent media in Georgia.
The Communications Commission, citing routine monitoring, has announced plans to review the case of TV Pirveli. The Commission’s Department of Media Service Regulation alleges that the broadcaster violated content-related provisions of the Law on Broadcasting by using phrases such as “scroll-screening agency,” “Chechen-type squad,” and “hunting activists,” among others.
The Media Advocacy Coalition views this as yet another instance of the Communications Commission crudely interfering in editorial independence and engaging in direct content censorship. This is a deliberate campaign of persecution against independent media, carried out under the pretext of enforcing repressive broadcasting law. In practice, this policy functions to suppress information unfavorable to the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Responsibility for these attacks on press freedom and free expression rests squarely with both the Commission’s members and the agency’s staff, who serve as the silent enforcers of a censorship policy targeting independent outlets.
Based on the Commission’s previous cases, can be state that the following individuals are directly accountable for leading this campaign against independent media: Commission Chairman Goga Gulordava, along with members Natia Kukuladze, Ekaterine Imedadze, Ivane Makharadze, and Ani Vazagashvili; as well as Irakli Butbaia, Head of the Legal Department, and Konstantine Koridze, Head of the Media Service Regulation Department, together with their respective staff.
The Media Advocacy Coalition stands in full solidarity with TV Pirveli and with every independent media outlet and journalist in Georgia who continues to carry out their professional duties in the face of ongoing pressure and legal persecution.
