Sopiko Niauri - Justice for Journalists

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Sopiko Niauri

Affiliated media: TV Pirveli, Journalist

Incident date: October 11, 2024

Attack type:

  • Fines and other restrictions following administrative offences

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Mapping Media Freedom

Location: Georgia, Tbilisi

Additional information:

The Tbilisi City Court ordered the government-critical channel TV Pirveli and its journalist, Sophiko Niauri, to pay 10,000 GEL to former Minister of Internal Affairs, Aleksandre Chikaidze. Chikaidze filed a lawsuit seeking the recognition of information disseminated by TV Pirveli as defamatory and requesting compensation for "moral damages" in the amount of 100,000 GEL. According to TV Pirveli's lawyer, Tornike Mighineishvili, the channel disagrees with the court's decision and plans to appeal it. This legal dispute has been regarded as a SLAPP case by the Georgian human rights NGO, Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI).