Georgian Parliament Speaker denounces UK sanctions on Imedi, POSTV as attack on free media

Georgian Shalva Papuashvili has criticized the United Kingdom’s decision to sanction the television companies TV Imedi and POSTV, describing it as an “unprovoked and unjustified attack on free media.”

Speaking to journalists on Friday, Papuashvili said the British ambassador to Georgia, Gareth Ward, was summoned to the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present the evidence supporting the UK government’s decision, but “was unable to provide a single piece of proof.”

Papuashvili accused the UK of orchestrating the sanctions based on the ambassador’s own notes and preparations, suggesting that the measures were designed to target independent Georgian media. 

He also described a video circulated on social media in which the ambassador, speaking in Georgian months earlier, had pledged support for free media, only for the footage to be used in the process of justifying sanctions.

“The evidence is absent, yet the attack proceeds,” Papuashvili said. “This is clearly aimed at silencing truthful media voices and clearing the field for propagandists financed from Europe.”

He also claimed that the UK had attempted to fund the newspaper Tabula, which he linked to the owner of another Georgian, opposition-aligned broadcaster, Formula, noting that Britain had ignored charges against the channel co-founder and former defence minister Davit Kezerashvili.

“The conclusion is clear: those we assumed were defenders of freedom of speech have turned out to be attackers of that freedom,” Papuashvili said, adding that “these actions threaten media outlets trusted by the Georgian public and open space for foreign-backed propaganda.”