Georgian Parliament Vice Speaker: actions against Georgian media reflect broader censorship trends criticised by US

Nino Tsilosani, the vice speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Thursday said that the process launched against Georgian broadcasters should be viewed not only in a Georgian context, but also through the prism of censorship that has been criticised by the United States.

Tsilosani’s remarks come in the wake of news that the European Parliament has suspended the accreditation of the Georgian broadcaster Imedi TV for one year. Simultaneously, Moldova denied accreditation to three Georgian TV channels without providing a formal explanation.

In her interview with Imedi TV, Tsilosani noted that active efforts against broadcasters such as Imedi TV, POSTV, and independent Georgian media organisations have been ongoing for years.

“For many years now, an active campaign has been underway against Imedi, POSTV, and independent Georgian media outlets in general. This includes, in particular, the local agent network sending information abroad from here. All of this overtly began with the British sanctions. This was an unprecedented decision. As we can see, informal political influences are already actively at work there as well, executing orders without any grounds whatsoever”, she said.

“If it does not fit into their political narrative, everything else is unacceptable. There is a well-engineered tactic that involves directly slapping on the Russian label; this is a formula for how you can ban and sanction. Moldova's decision certainly fits the behavioural genre of that country's rulers. This is a country whose ruler declares that they are ready to abolish their own country's independence and merge it with a neighbouring country”, Tsilosani concluded.