Kavkasia TV, Georgia’s government-critical broadcaster, said Communications Commission (ComCom), Georgia’s state media regulator, has launched administrative proceedings against the channel over a donation from the United States that the station’s director said came from a person with a Georgian name. The TV channel regularly solicits donations publicly.
In a February 16 Facebook post, Nino Jangirashvili, director of Kavkasia TV, published a letter from the ComCom that cites Georgia’s Law on Broadcasting, which prohibits broadcasters from receiving funding from a “foreign force.” She said the donation came from a person with a Georgian name and surname, whom she does not know and who may be a dual or former Georgian citizen, and described the state regulator’s move as an attempt to intimidate the channel.
Georgian broadcasters are subject to a ban on foreign funding, except for commercial transactions, under laws adopted in 2025 by the Georgian Dream-led parliament. Kavkasia TV has been asked to clarify the nature of the donation.
“What should we answer them?” Jangirashvili wrote. “What service did we provide to the donor? What invoice did we send? Or what did we spend it on? Maybe we paid for electricity or covered salaries. I don’t know. What else could we have done with the money?”
The move comes amid growing pressure and financial difficulties for critical media outlets. In early February, regional Trialeti TV said its satellite broadcasting was halted due to what it described as a financially induced crisis caused by systematic pressure from the authorities.
It also comes amid broader efforts by the Georgian Dream government to restrict foreign funding. The GD MPs in the disputed Parliament are now passing amendments that would expand the definition of foreign grants requiring state approval, introduce criminal liability and prison sentences for violations, allow prosecution of leaders of parties receiving foreign funds, criminalize “external lobbying,” and impose new restrictions on political party members and entrepreneurs.
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