AFP , Tbilisi :
Four independent Georgian Television stations suspended broadcasts for 24 hours on Wednesday in protest over attacks against journalists and the death of a cameraman.
The TV stations, Formula, Mtavari, Pirveli, and Kavkasia , said they were suspending broadcasting for 24 hours.
Demonstrations erupted in the capital Tbilisi following the death on Sunday of Alexander Lashkarava, a 37-year-old cameraman working for independent TV station Pirveli, less than a week after he was assaulted by a violent mob protesting against a planned LGBTQ Pride parade.
His death, and the beating of dozens of other journalists by the mob, has prompted a wave of outrage in Georgia and abroad.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it “marks a disastrous turning point for the freedom to inform in Georgia.”
Prominent Georgian TV personalities and managers have accused prime minister Irakli Garibashvili’s government of setting violent hate groups against critical media.
“Garibashvili must resign. All those who attacked journalists on 5 July must be prosecuted,” the protesting TV stations said in identical statements on their Facebook pages.
Instead of regular programmes, the four national broadcasters were showing a scrolling list of more than 50 journalists who sustained injuries in last week’s attacks including concussions, chemical burns and broken arms.
