18 years since Saakashvili regime’s crackdown on Imedi TV

Today marks 18 years since the events of November 7, 2007. On that day, following the dispersal of peaceful demonstrations at several locations in Tbilisi, the Government of then-President Mikheil Saakashvili stormed the offices of TV company Imedi.

Special forces raided the station, vandalized equipment, and took the channel off the air. Armed and masked officers broke through metal barricades after surrounding the building’s perimeter, entered the premises, forced employees to the ground, and physically assaulted several staff members, some of whom were seriously injured.

Members of the ruling Georgian Dream party say that Mikheil Saakashvili and his allies ruled the country through violent means under the guise of democracy.

Representatives of the Georgian Dream also drew a parallel between the state of media freedom at the time and the level of media pluralism developed after 2012.