Zurab Vardiashvili

Affiliated media: Publika, Editor

Incident date: July 22, 2025

Attack type:

• Damage to / seizure of property, vehicles, equipment, documents, journalistic materials, print media circulation

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Radio Liberty Georgia Service

Location: Georgia, Tbilisi

Additional information:

The head of the court bailiffs, Davit Matiashvili, confiscated the ID and phone of Publika editor Zurab Vardiashvili and threatened to "hold him accountable under the law." The incident occurred after bailiffs forcibly removed protesters from the city court hall. Vardiashvili followed the group outside and began filming in the courthouse courtyard. Upon seeing this, Matiashvili seized his phone and forced him into the bailiffs’ office. There, he compelled Vardiashvili to delete the video and issued further threats. As of June 30, filming, photographing, and audio recording are prohibited inside courtrooms, court halls, and even in courthouse courtyards — including for journalists.