On May 10, unknown individuals damaged the car belonging to Nino Zuriashvili, the Editor in Chief at Studio Monitori and a prominent investigative journalist. Additionally, insulting and hateful posters were affixed to the wall of her house. Similar posters with offensive content were also displayed yesterday in the building housing the Studio Monitori’s office.
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Nino Zuriashvili has been exposing high-ranking officials involved in large-scale corruption and human rights violations since the era of Eduard Shevardnadze, Georgia’s second President. She is the author of numerous high-profile investigative reports.
Studio Monitori actively opposes adopting a Russian Law aimed at eradicating free media in Georgia.
“Government and law enforcement organizations do not respond to such attacks. This leads us to believe that the government is involved in these facts.
We are familiar with these retaliatory tactics against independent media, reminiscent of the Russian scenario, which have been observed in Georgia recently. Nonetheless, the Studio Monitor team remains committed to conducting journalistic investigations as usual,” says Nino Zuriashvili.
In recent days, civil activists and members of opposition political parties who oppose the Russian Law on so-called Foreign Agents have been attacked and physically assaulted.
Unknown individuals are calling journalists and their family members en masse, cursing and threatening them for protesting against the Russian Law. Since May 9, offensive posters have been placed on buildings housing media outlets or where journalists reside, labeling investigative journalists as Agents until the approval of the Russian Law.
During the night of May 9 and the early hours of May 10, unknown masked individuals ambushed journalists and their respondents near the TV Pirveli building. As Nodar Meladze, the information service head said, there was a risk of the masked individuals breaking into the building. Despite multiple calls, the police did not arrive at the scene.
"The organized and systematic nature of the attacks, the impunity of the perpetrators, and the fact that the attackers have access to citizens' personal information all indicate that the government is behind all of this," states the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics. They call on the government to immediately return to the constitutional framework and unconditionally cease persecuting its citizens and protecting violent groups.
On April 3, 2024, Georgian Dream reintroduced the Russian Law on so-called Foreign Agents in parliament. This law had been withdrawn a year ago due to thousands of protests, with a promise never to accept it again. The Russian Law requires independent media and non-governmental organizations that operate with grant support from international funds and cannot be controlled by the government or related groups to register as foreign agents. Mass protests against the Russian Law have been ongoing in Tbilisi since April 15. Georgian Dream has already passed the bill in two readings, and the final hearing is scheduled for the week of May 13.
