Georgian border officials denied entry to journalists Arsen Kharatyan (AliQ Media) and Andrei Mialeshka (Racyja) on September 17. Despite both having lived in Georgia for over three years, Georgian authorities detained, searched, and interrogated the two men upon their arrival. Authorities then sent them back to Luxembourg and Poland respectively without explanation.
Since the Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2022, the Georgian government has denied entry to at least 11 independent Russian journalists, raising international concerns over the protection of press freedom within the country, according to Reporters Without Borders. While authorities have not made public statements clarifying the specific reasons for these actions, Mialeshka claims to have learned he was denied entry because of “other cases envisaged by Georgian legislation,” reasoning previously used to turn away other journalists in the past, reports Civil Georgia. According to Eurasianet, Kharatyan and Mialeshka’s journalism tends to align with Western democratic ideals. Kharatyan, the founder of a non-profit Georgian-Armenian media group based in Tbilisi, believes Georgian authorities denied his entry for political reasons. His accusations are particularly troubling considering that many exiled Russian and Belarussian journalists have sought refuge in Georgia over the last few years, reports Civil Georgia.
These events took place in light of the controversial new “foreign agents” bill passed in May that restricts international journalists’ freedom within Georgia. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the bill requires journalists and organizations who receive at least 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as foreign agents when entering Georgia. Critics argue that this law significantly hampers press freedom and limits independent reporting. Protests erupted across the country throughout June and July against the passage of the bill, with many citizens voicing concerns that the legislation seeks to strengthen Georgia’s ties with Russia at the expense of democracy, as reported by Reuters.
Georgian elections will be held on October 26, 2024. Analysts have described this election as one of the most critical in Georgia’s post-Soviet history, with the nation caught between choosing a future aligned with NATO or deepening ties with Russia, according to New Eastern Europe. The Chairman of the Independent Association of Georgian Journalists told the Financial, “These restrictions for journalists to enter the country during the election campaign negatively affect the transparency of these elections.” By reducing access to information, the limitations on reporting freedom threaten to undermine Georgian democracy, which, according to New Eastern Europe, could lead to the nation becoming a “satellite state of the Russian Federation.”