Tbilisi. On October 2 and 3, there will operate a Media Center of non-governmental organizations associated with the elections of local self-government bodies in Georgia. At the Media Center, non-government organizations, observing the elections, will provide journalists with information about the election process. The center will host briefings conducted by: Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association; International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy; Transparency International Georgia; Multinational Georgia; Human Rights Center. The Media Center of non-governmental organizations will be located in the hotel “Rooms” – Garden Hall, 14 Merab Kostava Street, Tbilisi. Only people who have been vaccinated twice are allowed at the Media Center. Read more… Source: osgf.ge

Tbilisi. Media Advocacy Coalition publishes a report, which contains an evaluation of July 5 and 6, 2021 developments related to a large-scale attack on media in Tbilisi in terms of various aspects. The report incorporates an analysis of preconditions and legal aspects of violence committed against media. The evaluation is based on information available in public and open sources. The content of the report has been worked out by the Coalition member organizations. Read more… Source: qartia.ge

Tbilisi. Media Advocacy Coalition condemns the violence committed against Levan Ablotia and Beka Korshia, a cameraman and a journalist of Mtavari Channel. “We consider that restricting the camera crew and injuring the cameraman on September 15, 2021, in Kareli contain also signs of unlawful interference in journalistic activities, which is a circumstance to be considered during the investigation. The Coalition assumes that the incident occurred in Kareli as a result of the aggressive politics of the ruling party”, - is noted in the statement released by the Coalition. Read more… Source: qartia.ge

Tbilisi. GDI releases a statement in response to the September 7, 2021 decision of the Chamber of Criminal Cases under the Supreme Court of Georgia. With this decision, the Chamber reversed the verdict imposed by courts of first and second instance and sentenced Davit Kezerashvili, the owner of the TV Company “Formula” and former Minister of Defense, to 5 years in prison. “It should be noted that the Cassation Chamber, reviewing the case, was chaired by Shalva Tadumadze, who held the position of Prosecutor General during both the second instance hearing of the case and the prosecution appeal of the case to the Court of Cassation. The Public Defender responded to the mentioned fact and pointed out the possible conflicts of interest. As she stated, “I am not familiar with this case, however, if Tadumadze served as Prosecutor when Kezerashvili was charged and such a fact is revealed, I assume it is a conflict of interests. I noted it in the case of Ugulava too, so if such circumstances emerge also in this case, then there is a high probability that the Strasbourg court will find a violation of the right to a fair trial, provided that this case goes there””, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Media Advocacy Coalition responds to the statement of Kakha Kaladze and proposes political parties sign a memorandum.  As Kaladze informs in his statement, the Tbilisi mayoral candidate, nominated by the ruling party, is going to participate only in TV debates planned by Public Broadcaster, besides, some of the regional TV stations have already received refusals of candidates of the ruling party to participate in political debates.  In order to fulfill the multifaceted commitment to suffrage, Media Advocacy Coalition proposes political parties and electoral subjects, participating in the local self-government elections, sign a memorandum, which incorporates the responsibility to carry out election processes in a peaceful, non-violent and non-discriminatory environment.  Read more…  Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. The TI presents the report - ‘Persecution and Harassment of Critical Journalists at Ajara TV’. ‘ The report mainly covers the events that took place in the broadcaster since April 2019, after the impeachment of the director, Natia Kapanadze. The report overviews the beginning and the development of the crisis in the broadcaster. In particular, it addresses the case of dozens of employees, who were illegally dismissed or harassed, because of their critical tone by the leadership affiliated with the ruling party', - is mentioned in the document. The study relies on the information prevalent in media, advisory board meetings, the broadcaster’s quarterly reports, information requested from the broadcaster, and other public sources. Read more…  Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. Rights Georgia publishes a blog post of Nana Mchedlidze: Protection of confidentiality of a journalistic source. “This blog post contains a review of European standards for protection of confidentiality of a journalistic source. Whether it is or not the right of a journalist to protect confidentiality of his/her source, the absolute right and what the measures are that may be followed by identification of a journalistic source”. Read more… Source: rights.ge

Tbilisi. People in Need is starting an online educational course: "Digital transformation Media School" on Moodle educational platform. “The program will enhance the adoption of digital technologies for fighting against disinformation and advance their media literacy skills. The training program offers participants training videos and interesting reading materials”. Find out more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Samtxkhe-Javakheti. A two day seminar was conducted for Georgian media representatives in Borjomi. “The seminar was attended by 20 journalists. Participants reviewed the gender statistics and indicators produced and disseminated by Geostat. They also discussed how to use such tools in practice. At the same time, Geostat representatives listened to the journalists’ feedback, which can be used to improve accessability of gender statistics in the future”. Read more… Source: georgia.unwomen.org

Tbilisi. The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics condemns the statement made by the Mayor of Tbilisi on July 20, according to which the Mayor compared activities of the media to actions of violent groups. “The Charter urges representatives of the authorities to refrain from encouraging attacks on members of the media with their aggressive attitudes, as well as to stop talking about norms restricting freedom of thought, speech and expression, support freedom of media and switch to a mode of business relations”. Read more… Source: www.qartia.ge

Tbilisi. “Media Advocacy Coalition” expresses its concern in regard to a statement of the Prime Minister discrediting “Mtavari Channel”, “TV Pirveli” and “Formula”, as well as threatening Nika Gvaramia. “At the July 17 public event with the participation of Garibashvili, there were invited only some representatives of the media. According to the explanation of the press service of the Prime Minister, “the Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili considers that “Mtavari Channel”, “TV Pirveli” and “Formula” have crossed all red lines, they represent a specific political party, are funded and directly controlled by Mikheil Saakashvili and his radical forces, as well as involved in a political campaign against the Prime Minister”. Respectively, this is the reason, for which mentioned TV companies were not invited to the event. It also became known that members of the violent group threaten Nika Gvaramia with deprivation of his life for blocking the Alt-Info Facebook channel. “We call on the Prime Minister of Georgia to stop discrediting the media within the framework of high public responsibility. We call on the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia to launch an investigation into the statement containing intimidation against Nika Gvaramia”. Read more… Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. USAID/Georgia Mission Director Peter Wiebler met with journalists and media sector advocates from Radio Liberty, Transparency International Georgia, the Media Development Foundation, the Open Society Georgia Foundation, and IREX. “At the meeting, they discussed the current challenges facing Georgia’s media sector, how programs and advocacy initiatives can help address them, and opportunities for sustained future USAID assistance”.                                                      Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. FactCheck (FactCheck.ge), a fact-checking website of Georgia’s Reforms Associates, publishes a blog post: What did Charles Michel actually say when he mentioned one generation? “A lot of social media sites have spread news as if Michel stated in his speech: “One generation is the distance that separates your society from the doors of the European Union”. According to the translation released by the platform, the President of the Council of Europe in reality said: “I believe our Eastern Partnership is the locomotive for transformation, prosperity and growth. It is equally a powerful symbol of openness, mutual confidence and of our cooperation. It has been one generation of independence for you. And in this one generation, the distance between your societies and the EU has shrunk in unprecedented ways. The EU is your most committed partner for greater democracy, for greater stability, for greater prosperity, and above all, for the benefits of the people of your countries”. Read more… Source: factcheck.ge

Tbilisi. According to information released by International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), Facebook has officially confirmed to the organization that the Facebook page of Alt-Info has been deleted based on the ISFED report. ISFED contacted Facebook and informed it about hate speech statements and calls for mobilization of violent groups made by Alt-Info on its platform. “According to the decision of the relevant department of Facebook, Alt-Info violated Facebook Terms and Policies”. Read more... Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. Myth Detector publishes a blog post prepared by Tamar Kintsurashvili and Keti Khutsishvili: Strategy of violent groups of Kremlin: Burning of Western symbols should become a norm. “Disruption of the Pride March of Tbilisi Pride and violence against journalists committed by violent groups were inspired by aggressive and threatening statements of “Alt-Info”, a TV Company connected with the party of Levan Vasadze – “Unity, Identity, Hope”. TV hosts of the Company were even among organizers of the violent contraction carried out on July 5”. Read more… Source: mythdetector.ge

Tbilisi. According to information released by International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), a version of overdose death of Lashkarava was posted on the Facebook page of “Marshalpress” about an hour earlier than the Ministry drew our attention to this information at its first briefing. “There was mentioned Ioseb Khimshiashvili, some politician, in the material as a source of it. Soon the online edition disseminated the news via open groups in an organized manner. Otar Stepanishvili, the founder of “Marshalpress”, was among those who shared the post”.                                                              Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. Public Defender releases a statement on Investigation of Actions of Organizers of July 5-6 events. “As of July 12, 2021, no criminal proceedings have been launched against any person by the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia for organizing violent, hate crimes that took place on July 5 and 6 in Tbilisi. We call on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor's Office to identify the main persons responsible for the actions of the alleged violent groups as soon as possible, as a matter of priority, and to launch criminal proceedings against them, as well as to proactively inform the public about the progress of the investigation. The Public Defender also calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to conduct an effective investigation into the death of TV Pirveli cameraman Alexandre Lashkarava, who was one of the victims of the July 5-6 violent attacks, and to establish a causal link between his bodily injuries and the fatal result”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. NGOs statement: “We, the undersigned organizations, express our utmost concern and sorrow over the passing of Lekso Lashkarava, the operator of „TV Pirveli”. We would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones. …  Following the large-scale violence of July 5, which resulted in dozens of injuries to journalists and civilians and the death of the operator of “TV Pirveli” after sustaining serious injuries, all organizers, participants and perpetrators of violence, regardless of their secular or religious status should be brought to justice. The political responsibility for the severe consequences lies with the government, which has in fact refused to perform its function to protect human health and life.  Therefore, the undersigned organizations request at least: Immediate resignation of the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Gharibashvili and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia Vakhtang Gomelauri”.  See more source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. EPRC extends its condolences to the family and colleagues of Lekso Lashkarava, a cameraman of the channel TV Pirveli. “We call on the relevant agencies to respond immediately to this tragic fact. We demand that the investigation and expertise be conducted in a transparent and efficient manner and that all organizers, participants, and facilitators of the crime be punished”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) has been engaged in the case of 11 journalists affected on July 5, 2021. An investigation into facts of violence committed against media representatives and obstruction of their journalistic activities has already been launched. At this stage the status of victim is granted to 2 journalists. The organization will continue to work on cases of affected journalists and provide public with up-to-date information on the progress of the investigation periodically. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Media Checker publishes a list of journalists who were attacked by violent groups at a rally held against the “Pride March” planned to take place on July 5 in Tbilisi. “According to our information, about 40 journalists and cameramen are injured. Some of them are transferred to a hospital with severe injuries. The equipment of televisions and online publications is damaged”. Read more… Source: www.mediachecker.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia considers the ongoing violent events on Rustaveli Avenue and near the office of the Shame Movement extremely disturbing. „By shifting responsibility onto the peaceful demonstrators, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili further exacerbated the already tense situation, after he described the March of Dignity as a cause for civil confrontation and said that "revanchist and radical" political forces were behind the Pride. The Public Defender once again reminds senior officials that the protection of freedom of peaceful expression and assembly, including by responding to counter-demonstrators' violent actions, is a constitutional obligation of the State and calls on the law enforcement agencies to use legal mechanisms to remove alleged offenders from public spaces“. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge