Georgian PM condemns UK sanctions on media as “attack on free press”

Georgia’s Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, has denounced the United Kingdom’s recent sanctions against two leading Georgian television channels, describing the move as an unprecedented attempt to pressure independent media.

Speaking after a political council meeting of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Kobakhidze said the sanctions were both “tragic and comical” and claimed their true aim was to give “a discredited opposition a chance to survive,” Caliber.Az reports per Georgian media. 

He accused radical opposition groups of relying entirely on foreign patrons, fulfilling their directives without question.

“No restrictions will compel national broadcasters to abandon the truth or fail in their duty to inform Georgian society,” he added.

Kobakhidze also criticised European bureaucracy, suggesting it remains susceptible to informal influences, and questioned the United States’ distant stance towards Georgia.

“Recent events, including the British sanctions, have shown how difficult it will be for European institutions to free themselves from informal influence in the short or even medium term. Against this backdrop, the current US position towards Georgia appears illogical and raises many questions,” he said.

On February 24, Britain imposed sanctions on Georgian broadcasters Imedi and Postv, accusing them of spreading misleading information about Russia’s war in Ukraine. The measures, part of a wider package targeting 297 entities to mark the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s 2022 invasion, freeze the channels’ UK assets and bar their owners from operating British companies.

Britain said Imedi had promoted false narratives portraying Ukraine’s government as “illegitimate” or a “puppet” of the West, while both channels allegedly disseminated content undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Imedi called the sanctions “worthless,” and Postv’s founder, Shalva Ramishvili, criticised the move on social media, suggesting it was because the channel had reported that Ukraine was not defeating Russia.

By Aghakazim Guliyev