Representatives of the Committee to Protect Journalists arrive at Prison #12 to visit Nika Gvaramia

Representatives of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) arrived in Georgia seeking permission from the Georgian Ministry of Justice to visit imprisoned journalist and political prisoner Nika Gvaramia in Rustavi Prison #12.

Lucy Westcott, Director of Emergencies, and Kerry Paterson, Deputy Director of Emergencies, at the Committee to Protect Journalists, were not granted permission to personally visit Nika Gvaramia and inquire about his well-being and treatment. CPJ representatives arrived at Prison #12 in Rustavi, Georgia. They were accompanied by Nika Gvaramia's wife, Sofia Liluashvili, and Gvaramia's lawyer and Mtavari Channel representative, Tamta Muradashvili.

CPJ representatives delivered the statement outside the prison.

"Thank you very much for being here today. Thank you, Sofia, for your strength and kindness, and thank you, Tamta, for your tireless efforts to free Nika. It is an honor to stand alongside you.

My name is Lucy Westcott and I am the Emergencies Director at the Committee to Protect Journalists. I am joined by Kerry Paterson, CPJ's Deputy Director of Emergencies. CPJ is a global press freedom non-profit organization based in New York City. We advocate for journalists around the world to ensure they are able to freely and safely report the news, without fear of reprisal.

CPJ is here to monitor the case of imprisoned journalist Nika Gvaramia, a situation we have been following closely, and with concern, since last May. We are standing outside of the prison where Nika is serving a three-and-a-half year sentence. Nika is the sole imprisoned journalist in Georgia and the only journalist from Georgia that CPJ has recorded on our prison census since we started keeping records in 1992.

We are demanding Nika's immediate release on charges that CPJ considers to be retaliatory. Governments around the world wield legal threats and prison sentences against journalists in order to keep them quiet. In Nika's case, there is no legal precedent for the charges against him, and international organizations have deemed there are no legal grounds for holding him criminally liable for his alleged crime.

There has been international outcry at Nika's prison sentence. Human rights organizations have condemned Nika's prosecution as retaliation for his criticism of authorities. The U.S. Embassy in Georgia released a statement last month saying the decision in Gvaramia's case "calls into question Georgia's commitment to rule of law", while the European Parliament called the charges "dubious".

It has been an honor for CPJ to spend time with Sofia, Nika's wife, and learn more about Nika as not only a journalist, but a person. We know that his arrest and imprisonment has a chilling effect and sends a message to his colleagues and journalists around the county, who fear they could be next. As Sofia told us earlier this week, Nika believes in the "power of words and freedom of speech. His words meant a lot".

The jailing of journalists marks a turning point for a country, and shows that authorities are willing to silence those critical of themselves. We call on the Georgian government to release Nika, and to guarantee the free press that everyone deserves. Until then, CPJ will continue to keep a close eye on Nika's case, and will continue to press for his release" - Lucy Westcott said.

Read more about CPJ's work on Nika Gvaramia's case and focus on Georgia: