Ruling Georgian Dream party Spokesperson slams international media for honouring reporter jailed for assaulting police officer

Giorgi Grdzelishvili, the Head of the Communications Department of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday sharply criticised the decision to award the World Press Freedom Hero title to convicted journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli - sentenced to two years for assaulting a police officer - calling it a clear demonstration of the dire state of the international media.

In his remarks, Grdzelishvili noted that the award - established by the International Press Institute in partnership with International Media Support - reflects how global press organisations, much like the European political establishment, are “centrally controlled and serve specific political agendas”.

“In this case, the convicted Amaghlobeli was used for deliberate violence, for attacks on the state and its institutions, and as a result we see that they praised her for faithfully fulfilling her task and declared her a hero on the international stage, no more, no less”, Grdzelishvili said.

“This is precisely the signature of the deep state - in politics and in the media, they have only one - a perverted standard, when they declare the organisers of the government overthrow as victims - and the law-enforcing authorities as perpetrators”, he continued.

Grdzelishvili also criticised what he described as “a double standard” in Western media, saying that while “violent journalists” receive international awards, professional journalists who uphold ethical standards are labeled as “mouthpieces of Russian propaganda” without evidence.

He further alleged that Georgia’s political and media space was “filled with foreign agents” directed by external powers to act against the country’s legitimate government, citing the imprisonment of opposition figures like Nika Gvaramia, Nika Melia, and Zurab Japaridze as examples.

“While the Georgian political and media landscape is saturated with foreign agents, whose masters in most cases force them to run headfirst into a wall and take any illegal action to overthrow the legitimate government, they end up serving prison sentences for the crimes they have committed. Gvaramia, Melia, Japaridze, and other agents are still serving their sentences today, just like Mzia Amaghlobeli - but it seems that only the latter has earned the title of the Deep State hero”, Grdzelishvili stressed.