Georgian government vows to take legal action against BBC

Georgian authorities to sue the BBC

As the ruling Georgian Dream party announced, the Georgian government has decided to launch an international legal case against the BBC. In its statement, the party said it intends to use every legal avenue to ensure that “so-called media outlets that spread lies are held accountable for disseminating dirty, false allegations.”

According to the party, the BBC “baselessly claims” in its article that Georgian police used First World War–era chemical agents to disperse protests in 2024. It says the information presented by the BBC relies on “accounts from interested parties and criminals.” Georgian Dream argues that by publishing the article, the BBC is taking part in spreading “deep state propaganda.”

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Statement by Georgian Dream

“The BBC has published an article that, alongside a series of absurd and false claims, accuses the Georgian authorities of allegedly using a ‘chemical agent’ against radical protesters during unlawful demonstrations. It is obvious that this so-called media outlet, now a tool of ‘deep state’ propaganda, has no factual basis for such a serious allegation.

Given that this outlet has repeatedly been involved in scandals in recent years – with multiple instances of proven misinformation that even led to changes in management – we initially set out just two conditions in our response: that our position be fully reflected, and that the BBC provide evidence for every claim it makes. At the same time, we demanded that all assertions in the article be based solely on verifiable facts and high journalistic standards.

In return, we received a torrent of lies and grave accusations against the Georgian authorities, built, as we have already noted, on accounts from interested parties and bearing no relation to reality.

The BBC clearly has no moral or professional constraints when it comes to carrying out dirty assignments and spreading disinformation — something evident in today’s article. The management changes resemble the recent succession of British prime ministers, none of whom brought real or even superficial change, resulting simply in one government controlled by the ‘deep state’ being replaced by another.

Since this once-respected media outlet — now reduced to a tool of informal governance — has publicly disseminated false accusations against the Georgian authorities without providing a single piece of evidence; since its so-called ‘investigation’, built on lies, relies largely on accounts from criminal elements and has nothing to do with reality; since the BBC received exhaustive answers to all its questions yet chose not to publish even one percent of our substantiated responses; and since this defamatory propaganda material aims to tarnish the Georgian government, the Georgian police, and, most importantly, Georgia’s statehood — we have decided to launch legal action against this false media organisation in international courts. We will use every possible legal avenue to ensure that this so-called media, which spreads lies, is held accountable for its false accusations.”

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Lawyer Nona Kurdovanidze comments on BBC investigation into Tbilisi protest crackdowns in 2024

On 1 December, the BBC published an extensive report alleging that the Georgian authorities used a First World War–era chemical agent to suppress anti-government protests last year.

According to the BBC, the investigation drew on informants within Georgia’s riot police, as well as interviews with chemical weapons experts, doctors and injured protesters.

Georgian authorities to sue the BBC