Prepared by Messenger Staff
Georgian Activist Detained by De Facto Authorities Hospitalized After Hunger Strike
Georgian civic activist Tamar Mearakishvili, who is being held by the de facto authorities in Tskhinvali on spying charges, has been hospitalized after her health deteriorated during a hunger strike.
Local outlet SAPA reported on December 30, citing her lawyer Alan Bazzaev, that Mearakishvili was taken to the hospital due to severe weakness. According to the lawyer, she remains in stable condition but continues to refuse food.
"Her mood is normal, but she is experiencing severe weakness," Bazzaev said, adding that she has no intention of ending the hunger strike despite her worsening condition.
Mearakishvili began a hunger strike following her detention and escalated it to a dry hunger strike on December 29, refusing both food and water. Her lawyer said she has lost around 10 kilograms since being taken into custody.
The de facto authorities in Tskhinvali announced her detention on December 22, accusing her of passing information to foreign media linked to Georgian special services, which was used for propaganda purposes. On December 24, a de facto court ordered her two-month pretrial detention.
Georgia's Public Defender's Office responded on December 30, saying it views Mearakishvili's detention as a restriction on freedom of expression and called for her immediate release.
Mearakishvili is a civic activist and former journalist who has previously faced arrest and prosecution by the de facto authorities. She was briefly detained in 2017 and later charged over allegations related to citizenship documents, but those charges were dropped in 2019.
TI-Georgia Reports Advertising Market Favors Pro-Government Broadcasters
Pro-government television channels in Georgia earned four times more in commercial advertising than critical broadcasters in 2024 and the first three quarters of 2025, Transparency International-Georgia reported on December 30.
According to the watchdog, pro-government outlets generated GEL 89.5 million in advertising revenue during the period, compared with GEL 23 million earned by critical channels. TI-Georgia described the gap as a "significant disproportion" and an "unequal distribution" of the advertising market.
The organization said 17 regional broadcasters shut down in 2025 due to financial difficulties and warned that two leading critical channels, Formula and TV Pirveli, face the risk of closure. Their shutdown, TI-Georgia said, "would cause irreparable harm to the public's right to proper information."
In 2024, the largest shares of advertising revenue went to pro-government Imedi Holding and Rustavi 2, followed by POSTV. Together, the three earned nearly three times more than Formula, TV Pirveli, and Mtavari, which later ceased broadcasting in 2025. The same trend continued in 2025, with pro-government channels earning almost six times more than critical outlets.
TI-Georgia said that the advertising market is too limited to sustain media independence and is disproportionately skewed in favor of pro-government broadcasters.
