| Amnesty International lament lack of media freedom in Georgia |
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28/05/2009 15:39 (176 Day 17:03 minutes ago) | |||||
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(via finchannel.com) A spokesperson for the family of Badri Patarkatsishvili , the rightful owners of Imedi TV (which was Georgia’s only national independent broadcaster until seized by the government) on May 28 said:
“The publication today of Amnesty International’s 2009 Report illustrates a worrying process of crackdowns on freedom of expression in Georgia. The report describes the sacking of the directors of the independent TV channel, Imedi, following its seizure by riot police.
We welcome this acknowledgement by one of the most respected international NGOs and call on governments and leaders to hold the Georgian government to account for their actions.”
Former Imedi journalist, Anna Gochashvili said,
“We are pleased that Amnesty International – a credible and independent organisation has acknowledged the overwhelming evidence of government interference with media freedom in Georgia.
Journalists at Imedi are working in a culture of intimidation and fear, actively being censored by people working for the government.”
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson has been installed as the head of editorial policy at the station, leading to direct interference with media freedom.
Journalists are barred from interviewing opposition members, told not to cover protests adequately and speeches critical of the government are taken off the air.
"The French Ambassador to Georgia Eric Fournier recently even refused to give an interview to Imedi TV because they were deliberately misquoting and mistranslating his comments.
We appreciate the support of Amnesty, and hope that governments, NGOs and media organisations will bring this case to the world’s attention.”
Amnesty International has today published their 2009 Report into the State of the World’s Human Rights. The report says:
“There were reports of harassment of opposition activists and media….On 30 May, the directors of Imedi TV, a channel broadcast nationally and known for commentary critical of government not available on other channels, were sacked following changes in the company’s ownership. Imedi TV had resumed partial broadcasting in May after its offices were taken over by riot police in November 2007 and the channel was taken off air. Maestro TV, a regional channel serving the capital and three other cities in eastern Georgia, was refused a licence for political programming on 4 April by the Georgian National Communications Commission.”
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