The government should not encourage attacks on media - Charter condemns Kaladze's statement

"Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics" responds to the statement of Tbilisi Mayor Kakhi Kaladze, in which the leader of "Dream" compared the activities of the media to the actions of violent groups. The Charter condemns this statement and calls on the authorities to stop talking about the norms of restricting freedom of thought, speech and expression.

"The Charter urges the authorities to refrain from attacking members of the media with their aggressive attitudes and to stop talking about restrictive norms of freedom of thought, speech and expression, to support media freedom and to move to formal relations," the Charter of Journalistic Ethics said.

The Charter notes that due to the aggressive rhetoric of politicians, an unfavorable environment is being created in Georgia for the free work of media organizations and journalists. According to them, this has a negative impact on the safety of journalists.

The Charter notes that it was the statements by the ruling party that encouraged violence against 53 members of the media on 5 July.