Opinion: "Dozens of cases against activists in Georgia lack any evidence at all"
Falsification of protest-related cases in Georgia
“The court hearings in the cases of those detained during the protests in Georgia were made closed supposedly to maintain order. But in reality, the ruling party ‘Georgian Dream’ seeks to limit public access to real information in order to more easily manipulate public opinion through propaganda and create a distorted picture of reality,” lawyer Nika Simonishvili says.
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Lawyer Nika Simonishvili: “Because the proceedings were made closed, the public has been deprived of the right to receive reliable information about the court sessions, and the defendants have been deprived of the opportunity to prove their innocence.
During the trial, we saw that it’s not about there being insufficient evidence. There is no evidence at all!
The detainees are accused of a group crime, but the prosecution cannot confirm this. It cannot confirm the fact of violence.
That’s why propagandist media spread content generated by artificial intelligence, as if one of the defendants was holding a knife – although the knife is not mentioned in the case at all.
But how can we show all this to the public if not through videos and photos that document everything happening in the courtroom?
Georgian Dream is trying to ensure that real information does not leak outside the country.”
In June 2025, amendments were adopted prohibiting journalists from taking photos or videos in courtrooms, as well as in the hallways and courtyards of court institutions. The authority to film is granted only to the court or a person authorized by it – JAMnews
“The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights could play an important role. The presence of its staff at the trial would allow for an independent assessment.
Local organizations are sharing information with the public as much as they can. But the OSCE, a powerful international organization, would become an even more important source of information both inside the country and abroad.
But ‘Georgian Dream’ does not want to allow this [and does not grant OSCE permission to attend the hearings].”
Batumelebi is a media outlet whose director, Mzia Amaghlobeli, was arrested by this government. But they continue to fight. The recent freezing of the outlet’s accounts for alleged non-payment of taxes is actually connected to that same head of Batumi police, because of whom Mzia was arrested.
Batumelebi published a video showing marijuana consumption in a bar in Batumi — and immediately after that, the Revenue Service used its financial tools against them.
There’s the same issue with taxes at the (pro-government) TV channels Imedi and Rustavi 2. But the Revenue Service made debt rescheduling agreements with them, while refusing to do the same for Batumelebi.
So the state is concerned about Batumelebi’s debt of 47,000 lari (around $17,000), but not about millions in tax debts from Imedi and Rustavi 2?
No – Georgian Dream simply wants to support the media it favors, and silence those outlets that criticize it.
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