Reporters Without Borders Improves Georgia's Score

An independent non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Paris, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released its latest report, the World Press Freedom Index 2018, in which Georgia is in 61th place for journalistic freedom out of the 180 countries ranked.

This is an improvement for Georgia, because last year, it was ranked the 64th in the same report.

The index rankings are based on a scale of 1 to 100, with 0 representing the highest and 100 the lowest level of press freedom.

None of the countries of the former Soviet Union (except the Baltics) are ranked ahead of Georgia.

However, the report reads that despite the improvement, Georgian media is still polarized.

“Georgia’s media are pluralist but still very polarized. The reforms of recent years have brought improvements in media ownership transparency and satellite TV pluralism, but owners still often call the shots on editorial content. The outcome of the continuing dispute over ownership of the main national opposition TV channel, Rustavi 2, will therefore have a big impact. Violence against journalists is less frequent although threats are often reported,’ the report reads.

It also mentioned the case of Azeri journalist, Afgan Mukhtarli, who was allegedly abducted from Georgia and taken to Baku in May 2017, is accused of “illegal border crossing, smuggling, and resistance or application of violence concerning a representative of authority.”

“Georgia has traditionally offered a refuge to dissidents from neighboring countries, so Azerbaijani dissident journalist Afgan Mukhtarli’s abduction in Tbilisi in 2017 sent shockwaves through the exile community. He mysteriously reappeared in police custody in Azerbaijan, where he was sentenced to six years in prison on trumped-up charges,” the organization says.

The report went on that two senior Georgian security officials were fired but Georgia’s investigation into Mukhtarli’s abduction has yet to produce any convincing explanation of how it happened.

Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Finland and Switzerland are the five countries with the most press freedom, according to the report.

RSF is an independent NGO with consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF).

By Thea Morrison