New York, December 9, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Georgian authorities to conduct a full investigation after more than a dozen masked individuals assaulted a camera crew with pro-opposition broadcaster TV Pirveli during a live December 7 broadcast covering the ongoing pro-EU protests.
“The masked attack on TV Pirveli reporter Maka Chikhladze and camera operator Giorgi Shetsiruli is deeply concerning amid ongoing violence by law enforcement officers directed at journalists covering mass pro-EU protests,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Georgian authorities should swiftly apprehend those responsible to uphold journalist safety.”
Chikhladze and Shetsiruli were filming a group of around 20-30 masked individuals beating protesters on a side street in the capital, Tbilisi, when the attackers shouted at Chikhladze, “You bitch, what are you filming?” the journalist told CPJ. One of the individuals then grabbed Chikhladze by the neck and threw her to the ground, according to footage of the incident.
Chikhladze was kicked repeatedly as Shetsiruli was also knocked to the ground, repeatedly kicked, and had his head stomped, seen in video footage. Chikhladze and Shetsiruli sustained concussions, cuts, and severe bruising and remain hospitalized as of Monday, the journalists told CPJ.
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Georgia’s Special Investigation Service, which investigates crimes against journalists, opened an investigation into the incident. However, Chikhladze told CPJ that she doubts the case will be resolved, adding that police failed to intervene during the attack, and she believes they were complicit.
The attack on the TV Pirveli crew followed a similar incident on December 6 in which masked men struck Mindia Gabadze, a reporter with the independent outlet Publika.
Independent civil society groups including Georgia’s Media Advocacy Coalition and the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association alleged that such masked groups operated with the consent or support of the authorities. Georgia’s prime minister condemned the attack on the TV Pirveli journalists and suggested it was a “provocation” that “only serve[s] to support radicals.”
CPJ emailed the Ministry of Internal Affairs and messaged the Special Investigation Service on its Facebook page for comment, but did not receive any replies.
Committee to Protect Journalists