Freedom of speech research figures given for Georgia

The Georgian nongovernmental organisation Association of Young Lawyers claims that freedom of speech has been restricted in the country since the Rose Revolution.

Earlier today, the NGO published the results of its monitoring of Georgian television channels, radio stations, and print and electronic media, as well as a survey of 55 journalists from various media countrywide in November and December this year.

"The research showed that freedom of speech and expression has been restricted in the country since the Rose Revolution on 23 November 2003, and facts of verbal and physical pressure on media representatives have become more frequent," Tornike Guruli, chief media contact at the NGO, told News Georgia agency.

Georgia's media is "free in part" according to 62% of the journalists surveyed; 31% of those surveyed believe that freedom of speech has gone down significantly over the past two years and only 7% of the journalists surveyed are convinced that "the media feels no pressure on anyone's part."

Fifty-four per cent believe that the process of obtaining public information in government structures has become more difficult; 22% say the opposite, and 24% think that the situation has not changed in this respect.

Online media has been called the freest media by 56% of those surveyed; 28% believe that the freedoms of journalists with print media are limited to the minimum extent, and 8% said that Georgian television companies and radio stations were relatively free from censorship.

• Freedom of speech down since Rose Revolution