Georgia court fines broadcaster Formula over film director reports

Goga Khaindrava

A court in Tbilisi has fined the opposition-leaning TV channel Formula ₾10,000 ($3,800) and ordered a retraction of its reports on a pro-government film director.

The Tbilisi City Court ruled on Tuesday in favour of Goga Khaindrava, who had accused the broadcaster of defamation and damaging his honour and reputation.

Judge Liana Kazhashvili ordered Formula to pay compensation for moral harm and broadcast a formal retraction of the contested segments.

Khaindrava welcomed the decision, describing the reports as "malicious defamation" and saying his lawsuit was intended to "teach them a lesson".

He added that he would donate the compensation to a fund "which will protect citizens from media terror".

Formula's lawyer, Eto Katamadze, called the ruling "unfounded" and said the channel would appeal.

She said the broadcaster would "most likely" take the dispute to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), adding that the verdict was "not surprising" given long-standing domestic and international concerns over the independence of Georgia's judiciary.

The legal battle centres on two reports broadcast on Formula's flagship programme Saturday Formula in December 2025 and January 2026.

In the December segment, the broadcaster reported that one of Khaindrava's projects had received ₾1 million ($380,000) from the Georgian National Film Centre.

Khaindrava challenged the report's assertions, including statements that his work was linked to the ruling Georgian Dream party, that he was known for vulgar and propagandistic remarks, and that he owned an entire village in eastern Georgia.

The January report, citing an unnamed source, suggested that Khaindrava had co-operated with the State Security Service (SSG) to help foreign nationals enter Georgia illegally between 2015 and 2017 in exchange for money.

Following that broadcast, Khaindrava also filed a complaint with the Tbilisi Prosecutor's Office, which has since launched a criminal investigation into "false denunciation".

The host of Saturday Formula, Davit Kashashvili, along with the segment's reporter and a camera operator, have been summoned by prosecutors for questioning.