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GEORGIA
The Constitution and the 1991 press law provide for
freedom of the press; however, although the independent
press increasingly was active, the Government constrained
some press freedoms. According to journalists,
security and law enforcement authorities attempted to
intimidate the press through public comments and private
admonitions. There is no law providing public
access to government information, and government
officials are sometimes unwilling to answer press
inquiries. Journalists lack effective legal
protection, and this circumstance hinders investigative
journalism. The Civil Code and other legislation
make it a crime to insult the honor and dignity of an
individual and place the burden of proof on the
accused. Parliament is considering several draft
laws on the media, some of which would further restrict
press freedoms, and these bills include truth as a
defense against defamation.
Some 200
independent newspapers operate, and the press
increasingly serves as a check on government, frequently
criticizing the performance of high-level
officials. However, no independent newspaper as yet
has a large national audience, although several have
emerged as serious and reputable sources of
information. High printing costs and general
poverty, especially in the countryside, limit the
circulation of most newspapers to a few hundred or a few
thousand. The Government finances and controls two
newspapers and a radio and television network, which have
a national audience and reflect official
viewpoints. Most persons continue to get their news
from television. The Government’s monopoly on
broadcast news was broken when Rustavi2, the Tbilisi
member station of the fledgling independent television
network, TNG, successfully resisted government attempts
for 2 years to shut it down and emerged this year as an
important alternative to state television.
Independent newspapers and television stations continued
to be harassed by state tax authorities.
In April two
journalists from the independent newspaper Orioni
reported allegations of homosexuality and sexual
harassment in the armed forces that had led to several
suicides. Government and military officials
reportedly responded by threatening the reporters with
arrest, demanding the names of sources, and filing a
civil law suit that charged defamation. One of the
two journalists, Amiran Meskheli, was detained for
allegedly having evaded military service, subsequently
was conscripted, and was assigned to the unit on which he
had reported. Human rights monitors considered this
action a transparent attempt at intimidation and filed a
lawsuit to overturn his conscription. The trial has
been postponed, and Meskheli is out on bail.
In May the
independent newspaper Kavkasioni published allegations of
graft and misconduct by the Abkhaz government-in-exile, a
quasi-official body that claims to be the genuine
government of Abkhazia and to speak for refugees from
Abkhazia. In July two members of the Abkhaz
government-in-exile filed a defamation suit against
Kavkasioni. The trial was still under way at
year’s end. The newspaper was trying to have
the case dismissed.
Academic
freedom is respected widely.
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