French journalist Clément Girardot, who has lived and worked in Georgia for years, has revealed that he was denied entry into the country upon arrival at Tbilisi International Airport on February 12. Girardot believes the decision was politically motivated and linked to his work as a journalist.
“I can now speak out about what happened to me on February 12th at Tbilisi airport. After a long and exhausting overnight flight from Munich, and after waiting for over an hour at passport control, I was expelled from Georgian territory,” he wrote in a statement.
According to Girardot, a police officer handed him a document stating that his entry was denied under “other cases” and mentioned that he might be allowed to return in the future. However, he later learned that his name had appeared on a “red list” maintained by Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, indicating that the ban was not temporary.
“The exact reason remains unknown and may never be revealed, but this decision is almost certainly linked to my work as a journalist — in a context where my Georgian colleagues and independent media face immense political pressure, and where citizens are being violently repressed simply for defending the democratic future of their country,” Girardot stated.
Having written about Georgia since 2012, Girardot said he had traveled extensively across the country, meeting people from all walks of life and always being warmly received. He noted that his recent reporting had focused on victims of political repression following the events of November 28, 2023.
“I believe I was fulfilling my duty as both a journalist and a friend of Georgia,” he said.
Girardot accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of attempting to silence dissent and hide its authoritarian practices from the international community. “The Georgian Dream government banned me because it wants to continue its slide toward dictatorship away from the eyes of the outside world,” he wrote. “Even from afar, Georgian Dream will not achieve its goal — I will continue to speak out about the struggle of the Georgian people and the suffering they endure.”
Clément Girardot holds legal residency in Georgia and has a Georgian wife and child. Despite the ban, he expressed hope that he would be able to return to Tbilisi soon.
