On February 26, at 12:00 pm Georgian human rights NGOs will give a press-conference in the Public Defender’s office (Machabeli Street 11, Tbilisi).

Georgian Human Rights NGOs condemn the media campaign against civil society, especially Human Rights NGOs, which has intensified recently.

Media campaign against non-governmental organizations and human rights defenders has especially intensified since December 10, 2009, the International Day of Human Rights. First targets of the campaign was the “Human Rights Priority” (December 10th), “Georgian Young Lawyers Association” (December 12th), the founder of the “Studio Reporter” Vakhtang Komakhidze, the head of the “Union of Disabled Veterans and Wives of Fallen Soldiers” Manan Mebuke and conflict scientist Paata Zakareishvili (December 17th). Similarly plotted features were aired by the media later as well.

In February 2010, the head of the “Studio Reporter” and investigative journalist Vakhtang Komakhidze was warned by the representatives of the government that the life and health of his family members and himself would be under threat if he did not stop his activities (in particular, filming of the documentary, regarding Russian-Georgian war in August). Shortly after, the journalist was forced to seek the political asylum in Switzerland.

Recently, on 22nd of February, the article was published in the newspaper “Versia” (Version) with the headline – “Who is the agent with the code name “Shvartsika” and what coded messages were published on web-sites”. The article is about the founder of the Multinational Georgia Arnold Stepanian; the article introduces documents dated by 1993 about gaining Stepanian over by Security Service of Russian Federation; the author of the article claims Stepanian had sent so-called coded messages to them.

At the press-conference in the office of Public Defender, non-governmental organizations will make special statement about the campaign against them and will answer questions of journalists.