(Interpressnews.)
TBILISI, October 22 – Journalists in the Georgian coastal city of Batumi held a rally on Wednesday to protest the recent arrests of several reporters, calling the detentions an attack on media freedom.
Carrying banners that read “Who will expose corruption and nepotism if there is no media?”, demonstrators gathered outside the Constitutional Court and the building of the Adjara regional government.
“We cannot remain silent when so much injustice is happening in this country and our colleagues are being detained,” journalist Nana Abuladze said at the rally. “Silence is equal to complicity. We stand in solidarity with all journalists whose rights have been violated and who have been treated unfairly.”
The protests come after several journalists, including Vakho Sanaia, Keta Tsitskishvili, Tsira Zhvania, and Irakli Tsulaia, were detained in recent days. All face administrative charges of “illegally blocking traffic” during demonstrations held in Tbilisi earlier this month.
Critics of the government say the arrests are part of a broader clampdown on dissent and independent media. Authorities, however, maintain that police acted strictly in accordance with the law, citing new restrictions on blocking public roads during protests.
