Georgian Parliament Speaker condemns foreign attack on free media, vows support

Georgian Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said there were no sanctions, but a foreign attack on Georgia’s free media, and that the government would do everything possible to help free media defend itself against external aggression.

When asked about the British sanctions against Imedi TV and POSTV, Papuashvili noted that the government would support free media in defending itself and these were rights recognised by international law and the United Nations.

“We have witnessed an attack by the British authorities on the free media, and naturally, the free media has the right to protect itself from this unprovoked and unfair assault. Aggression gives any person, organisation, or state the right to defend themselves, so we must not confuse the aggressor with the victim”, he said.

“Here, the aggressor is the British authorities, who attacked the free media without justification, unfairly, and unprovokedly, while the victim is the free media, which has every right to defend itself. We have also stated that the Georgian state will fully support the free media in defending itself against external aggression and in continuing to deliver truthful information to the public”, he concluded.