Georgia's Prosecutor's Office Opens Criminal Case Against Formula TV
By Messenger Staff
Friday, June 19, 2026
Georgia's Prosecutor's Office has launched a criminal investigation against opposition-leaning broadcaster Formula TV over allegations of filing a false report, in a case linked to a January 2026 investigative segment about film director Goga Khaindrava.
The Prosecutor's Office said the investigation followed a complaint filed by Khaindrava's attorneys over allegations the channel aired about his possible involvement in criminal activity. Khaindrava is a Georgian film director known for his pro-Georgian Dream government positions and past roles in public office.
The segment, broadcast by Formula TV's Saturday Formula program, relied on an unidentified source whose face was hidden and whose voice was altered. The source alleged that between 2015 and 2017, Khaindrava helped citizens of India and Pakistan enter Georgia by providing lists of their names to the State Security Service under the pretense that they were needed for film productions. The segment ran for nearly six minutes.
The case is being investigated under Article 373-1 of the Georgian Criminal Code, which covers false reporting and carries penalties ranging from a fine to up to four years in prison.
The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics condemned the move as an attempt to intimidate the media and punish investigative journalists, calling the decision to open proceedings "alarming." The Charter stressed that source confidentiality is a fundamental principle of journalism and warned against efforts to force reporters to reveal their sources. It added that "repressive approaches toward critical media in Georgia are constantly taking on new forms and becoming increasingly severe" and that independent outlets are operating in an "extremely hostile and obstructive environment."
