Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has expressed deep concern after two French journalists, Clément Girardot and Jérôme Chobeau, were denied entry into Georgia without explanation.
The international watchdog sees the move as part of a broader pattern of suppressing independent journalism amid ongoing political unrest in the country.
Unjustified detention and deportation
Photojournalist Jérôme Chobeau was detained on March 30 at Tbilisi International Airport. According to RSF, Chobeau was held for several hours without access to his phone or luggage. Authorities ordered him to pay two unspecified cash fines totaling 10,000 Georgian lari (around $3,600 USD) before deporting him. No formal notice of his expulsion was provided.
Chobeau had just returned to Georgia after spending two months documenting nationwide protests. Now back in France, he has initiated legal proceedings against the Georgian authorities.
Clément Girardot also turned away
A similar fate befell Clément Girardot, a journalist who has reported on Georgia for more than a decade and worked with leading international outlets such as Le Monde, Society, and Al Jazeera. Girardot, who holds Georgian residency and is married to a Georgian citizen, was denied entry on February 12 upon returning from France. After a lengthy wait at the border, he was deported without any explanation.
“I’ve been reporting on Georgia since 2012,” said Girardot. “I’ve always felt welcomed by its people. Recently, my reporting has focused on victims of repression. I believe the Georgian Dream government barred me to hide its authoritarian ambitions from public scrutiny. But even from afar, I’ll continue to report on the struggles and resilience of the Georgian people.”
Despite efforts by the French embassy and legal representatives, Georgian authorities have remained silent. Girardot’s initial legal appeal was dismissed, and a court hearing is scheduled for June 23.
Broader concerns over press freedom
Jean Cavalié, RSF’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, described the cases as part of a disturbing trend aimed at intimidating independent journalists — particularly those covering demonstrations that erupted after Georgia’s disputed parliamentary elections in October 2024.
Cavalié urged the Georgian Dream government to respect press freedom and called on France and the European Union to step up diplomatic pressure on Tbilisi.
Pattern of arbitrary entry vans
These incidents are not isolated. In recent years, numerous foreign nationals — many of them long-time Georgian residents or vocal critics of authoritarian regimes — have been denied entry without explanation.
On February 3, 2025, Russian Orthodox theologian and outspoken critic of the Moscow Patriarchate, Andrey Kuraev, was barred entry. Other Russian activists, including pro-Ukraine campaigner Igor Miglan and Boris Nadezhdin supporter Maxim Ivantsov, were similarly turned away.
The most prominent case occurred on March 20, 2025, when Lithuanian human rights advocate Regina Yegorova-Askerova was denied entry despite having lived in Georgia for 15 years. Her husband and children are Georgian citizens.
RSF and other human rights organizations warn that these arbitrary refusals represent a growing crackdown on dissent and free expression within Georgia’s borders. Photo by Reporters Without Borders, Wikimedia commons.