Georgia

The International Press Institute (IPI) Wednesday urged Georgian authorities to fully investigate reports that surreptitious eavesdropping that has plagued the country remains ongoing, and not to target media that brought those claims to light. Prosecutors in Tbilisi last week opened a criminal investigation into the “illegal acquisition and release of private communication” after a May 10...

Four well-known photo-journalists were arrested on July 7 in Tbilisi on spying charges and calls on the authorities to explain these serious accusations and to provide regular information on the situation of the detainees, Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. “The authorities obviously have a duty to protect national interests but the current fear of spies...

Georgian authorities have pressed criminal charges against the Tbilisi bureau chief for the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. According to RIA Novosti, Besik Pipia is facing up to three years in prison if convicted on a criminal charge of document forgery. Georgian police opened a criminal probe against Pipia on September 3, claiming he had forged his Georgian driver’s licence, which they issued to...