Georgia’s Public Defender has determined that Batumi City Hall violated freedom of expression by restricting the professional activities of journalists from Batumelebi, according to an official letter addressing the case. “There has been an interference with a journalist’s freedom of expression,” the Public Defender stated in an assessment concerning the obstruction of Batumelebi journalists’ professional work.
The case concerns an incident that occurred on February 12, 2025, when Batumelebi journalists were denied access to a meeting held at Batumi City Hall on issues related to homelessness. Representatives of the Adjara Public Broadcaster were allowed to attend the same meeting.
“In the present case, on February 12, 2025, Batumelebi journalist Jaba Ananidze was not afforded the opportunity to carry out his professional activities within the building of the Batumi Municipality City Hall. Specifically, he was prevented from documenting an ongoing working meeting at the institution and from obtaining information about the purpose of the meeting and the issues under discussion, in the same manner as representatives of the Adjara Public Broadcaster were able to do,” the Public Defender’s assessment states.
The Ombudsman further notes that explanations received from the Batumi City Hall confirm that the meeting addressed an important social issue, one of high public interest. “Accordingly, in this case, there has been an interference with the journalist’s freedom of expression. However, it is also essential to assess the legal nature of this interference,” the letter reads.
According to the Public Defender, gathering and obtaining information on issues of high public interest including through physical access to public institutions constitutes an integral part of an online media journalist’s professional activity and is protected under freedom of expression. “The search for and acquisition of information by an online media journalist on matters of high public interest, including through physical access to a public institution, forms part of their professional activity and is protected by freedom of expression,” the assessment states.
The Public Defender has formally addressed Batumi City Hall with recommendations aimed at preventing and combating discrimination. The Ombudsman called on the municipality to develop an internal legal act, based on equal, foreseeable, and objective criteria, that would normatively regulate the invitation, access, and professional activities of media representatives within the institution, including with regard to closed-format working meetings. In addition, the Public Defender recommended establishing and implementing internal procedural regulations governing standards of interaction with the media, including provisions for effective feedback and complaint mechanisms. These recommendations were addressed to Batumi Mayor Giorgi Tsintsadze, according to the Ombudsman’s letter.
In the same letter, the Public Defender emphasized that while freedom of expression is not absolute, restrictions on this right are permissible only in accordance with the law and solely for purposes necessary in a democratic society including the protection of state or public security, territorial integrity, the rights of others, the prevention of the disclosure of confidential information, or the safeguarding of judicial independence and impartiality. Under this legal framework, the lawfulness of interference with freedom of expression must be assessed through a three-step test: 1. The interference must be prescribed by law; 2. The interference must pursue one or more legitimate aims; 3. The interference must be necessary in a democratic society. The Public Defender notes that this standard is also reflected in Georgia’s Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression.
Prior to the assessment, Batumi City Hall informed the Public Defender that the working group meeting on homelessness issues was not public, despite the fact that Adjara Public Television attended the meeting. According to the municipality’s explanation, Adjara Television had been notified in advance, before the meeting began, while Batumelebi contacted the City Hall press office after the meeting had already started following information provided to a Batumelebi journalist by one of the homeless individuals present.
The Public Defender expressed particular concern over the risk of an increasing “chilling effect” on critical media coverage stemming from the municipality’s approach. “In the process of covering the activities of municipal authorities, it is essential that local self-government bodies facilitate the equal involvement of media outlets both through relevant internal legal regulations and their consistent implementation in practice. Otherwise, the absence of institutional mechanisms and written regulations governing relations with the media may lead to the following challenges in the future,” the letter states. Among these challenges, the Ombudsman highlights the strengthening of a chilling effect, whereby media representatives may refrain from covering municipal activities due to the expectation that access to information may again be restricted. “This affects not only journalists, but also the public’s right to receive diverse information,” the Public Defender notes.
The Ombudsman also pointed to the danger of subjective decision-making in the absence of clear normative rules. “In the absence of normative regulations, ensuring media access becomes dependent on the broad discretion of individual officials, creating the risk that access may be restricted based solely on the content of coverage, political attitudes, or other subjective grounds,” the letter concludes.