Georgia’s ruling party lodges official complaint with BBC over documentary

The ruling Georgian Dream party filed an official complaint with the BBC, said on Thursday the Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.

As he noted, the complaint demanded the removal of the BBC film and related materials from relevant platforms, which alleged that the ruling Georgian Dream party used chemical weapons dating back to World War I during a protest rally in 2024, as well as a public and clear apology from the BBC.

“As you know, on December 1, 2025, the BBC, a publicly funded British television channel, published a film and other related publications containing serious, damaging and categorical allegations, including the alleged use of the World War I chemical weapon camite by the Georgian authorities. The allegations are false, unsubstantiated and defamatory”, he said.

“The absurdity of these claims, along with the nature and scale of the violations, suggests that we are dealing with a political campaign aimed at damaging the reputation of Georgia’s government through a predetermined false narrative”, the Speaker continued.

He further noted that the way the materials were presented indicates an intention to shape public perception and political narratives rather than to inform audiences through accurate and balanced journalism.

“This false narrative was subsequently spread and strengthened by many high-ranking foreign officials and domestic political actors and is being used as a politically motivated tool of attack against Georgia's ruling political party. Therefore, in accordance with our stated intention on the day the BBC's defamatory publications were published, we, on behalf of the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party, yesterday filed an official complaint with the BBC. The film and accompanying publications contain serious and unsubstantiated allegations that violate the BBC's own editorial standards, the UK's Office of Communications Regulatory Authority (Ofcom) Broadcasting Code, and the fundamental principles of responsible journalism”, the Speaker continued.

“First of all, we are dealing with a blatant violation of the obligation of accuracy. The BBC presented as fact in its publications the claim that Georgian law enforcement agencies used the chemical substance camite during the rallies. This claim is not based on a single verified, independent or reliable source. On the contrary, the investigation conducted confirmed that the Ministry of Internal Affairs not only never used the substance in question, but also never had it in its possession”, he said.

He also accused the BBC of misrepresenting events by implying that protesters did not engage in violence against police, and that authorities dispersed gatherings without cause.

In addition, he said the broadcaster falsely claimed that Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Honorary Chair of the Georgian Dream party, was involved in decisions related to dispersing violent protests in November-December 2024.

“The second significant problem is the violation of impartiality. The program develops a clearly one-sided narrative and presents the Georgian Government as the organizer of violent actions, pro-Russian, standing on the side of Russian interests, etc. At the same time, the position of the Government, the official explanations of law enforcement agencies and the context necessary for an objective analysis of the events are ignored”, Papuashvili added.

“The third issue concerns the disregard for fairness and the right to reply. The BBC contacted the Georgian authorities about serious allegations only a few days before they were to be broadcast. This practice contradicts the BBC's own editorial guidelines, which require real communication within an adequate timeframe in the case of serious and reputational damage”, he noted.

He also drew attention to the elements of defamation, saying that the program used statements from specific individuals whose credibility, conflicts of interest, and past were not disclosed to the audience, resulting in a distorted picture for the audience, with assumptions and hypotheses presented as proven facts.

“The complaint is fully based on the BBC's editorial principles, the British Communications Bureau's Broadcasting Code, as well as the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, which clearly establishes that when reporting serious allegations, a journalist is under an obligation of the highest degree of accuracy, verification and fairness”, the Speaker stressed.

As Papushvili said, the ruling team’s complaint demanded:

1. Removal of the film and related materials from relevant platforms
2. Public and clear apology from the BBC:

• For making assumptions and allegations without factual basis that Georgian law enforcement agencies used camite
• For disseminating information without factual basis that Georgian law enforcement agencies used physical force in circumstances where the participants of the rallies did not attack them
• ​​For making assertions without factual basis that the interests of the Georgian Dream party coincide with the interests of Russia
• For disseminating information without factual basis that the Honorary Chairman of the Georgian Dream party participated in decisions to disperse violent gatherings.

“I would also like to clarify that under British law, there is established a sequence for appealing, according to which a victim must first appeal to the media itself, which is what we did with our complaint yesterday. If the BBC does not rectify the breach itself, the next step is to appeal to the British Office of Communications (Ofcom). If the breach is not rectified there either, we will then have the option of appealing to the UK courts. We will use all legal means to expose this despicable campaign against Georgia, including the right to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights”, he concluded.