Georgia calls for investigation into attacks on journalists covering protests
Over the past 10 days, Georgian police and special forces have harmed more than 70 journalists and cameramen covering protests in support of European integration. One of the high-profile episodes was the attack on the TV Pirveli film crew. This was announced by the Office of the Media Ombudsman of Georgia.
To date, investigative bodies have not questioned a single law enforcement officer involved in illegal detentions and attacks.
“On December 10, the world celebrates International Human Rights Day, while Georgian media have to fight for freedom of expression. Stop persecution and violence against protesters, independent journalists and cameramen. The Georgian Dream is trying to suppress them using force, law enforcement agencies and “titushki.” Georgian media organizations exist under the threat of being declared "foreign agents" and closed under the "Russian law" on "foreign agents", as well as under the pressure of limited financial resources," the appeal of the Office of the Media Ombudsman of Georgia says.
The NGO "Committee to Protect Journalists" called on the government of the country to hold those responsible for the attack on the film crew of the opposition TV channel TV Pirveli, as well as on the journalist of the Formula TV channel Guram Rogava.
Recall that on the evening of December 7, "titushki" (hired instigators and militants) attacked the journalist and cameraman of TV Pirveli - Maka Chikhladze and Giorgi Shetsiruli.
