Journalists attacked and drones downed

At the site of the clashes, the media is working under difficult conditions as usual, but this time, journalists are reporting something rather unusual: according to three different outlets, they lost control of their drones.

Netgazeti and Project 64 suspected this was the result of deliberate interference.

‘The drone was taken from us in the air. I launched it and was filming above parliament, while I was standing somewhere near the Opera House. I was bringing it back when it suddenly began to fly strangely and I instantly lost control’, wrote Giorgi Goguа, editor-in-chief of Project 64. According to him, the flight log showed that the drone had flown toward Tbilisi Airport, which is located several kilometers away.

Mautskebeli also lost a drone.

Meanwhile, the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) reported that one of their journalists was splashed with an ‘unidentified liquid’ by a protester. The TV channel’s footage shows both the splashing itself and the moment when another person — apparently also a protester — helps the journalist by applying a saline solution.

Keti Tutberidze, a journalist with the investigative studio Monitori, said that while she was filming, two police officers rushed at her ‘roaring’, grabbed her by the arm, and tried to seize her phone.

In addition, TV Pirveli reported that their camera operator, Niko Kokaia, was injured when his leg was apparently hit by a gas canister.