On 7 May 2024, an incident unfolded in Tbilisi, Georgia, as members of the Formula TV (https://formula.ge/) crew and Giorgi Kldiashvili, founding member and Executive Director of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI – https://idfi.ge/en), were subjected to a violent attack.
The assailant, allegedly brandished a glass bottle and verbally abused Kldiashvili and the Formula TV team. Notably, he has purported ties to the ruling Georgian Dream party, raising questions about the motives behind the attack.
The Public Defender’s Office swiftly responded to the incident, urging law enforcement agencies to conduct a thorough investigation to uncover the underlying motives behind this assault and address the broader pattern of attacks against media professionals and civil society advocates.
You can see the Formula TV article and video of the attack here: https://formulanews.ge/News/110753
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemns the violent assault on journalists and members of the Formula TV crew, including Giorgi Kldiashvili, near the Embassy of Sweden in Tbilisi, Georgia. Such attacks on media professionals undermine press freedom and democratic values, posing a grave threat to the safety and well-being of journalists. SEEMO calls for a swift and thorough investigation into this incident to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice and to prevent further attacks on journalists. It is imperative that authorities in Georgia take concrete steps to protect journalists and uphold their fundamental right to freedom of expression without fear of intimidation or violence.
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO members are in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova (with the territory of Transdnestria), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye / Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Austria, Italy, Vatican and San Marino have a special status in SEEMO. SEEMO has over 3000 individual members, and additional media as corporate members.
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