Czech journalist Ray Baseley, who was denied entry into Georgia, claims he was illegally detained at Tbilisi International Airport for 34 hours before being returned to the Czech Republic. He shared his experience on the social media platform X.
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"After 34 hours of being unlawfully detained at the Tbilisi airport without almost any connection with the world, I'm now in safety currently at the airport in Warsaw. I’m devastated to leave Georgia. These elections are crucial to the country and to the whole world. I will now be traveling to Prague. Hoping that with the help of others I might be able to go back to Sakartvelo in the near future," the journalist wrote.
On the evening of October 22, Ray Baseley reported that the border guards at Tbilisi International Airport denied him entry into Georgia "without justification or additional explanation." He published the decision from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, which stated that he "does not meet other requirements defined by the legislation of Georgia" as the basis for the refusal. The journalist's phone and other personal belongings were confiscated, and it was not possible to contact him since the evening of October 22.
Ray Baseley is a freelance journalist. He was traveling to Georgia to cover the parliamentary elections. According to photos published on Facebook, Baisley was in Tbilisi in May of this year during demonstrations against the Russian Law on so-called Foreign Agents.
