French photojournalist Jerôme Chocho, who covered the protests in Tbilisi, was denied entry to Georgia on March 31. This was reported by the UN Association portal civil.ge, reports UNN.
I was not allowed into the airport and I returned to the plane... Thank you for the message
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Shobo actively covers the pro-European demonstrations that have been going on in Tbilisi for over 100 days. On his Instagram page, he published numerous photos and collages showing Georgian police officers in masks detaining activists, including opposition leader Nika Melia. The title of the post from February 3 is "Police from Hell".
The international press freedom organization "Reporters Without Borders" (RSF) condemned the decision regarding Shobo. According to the organization, after arriving in Tbilisi, Shobo was "detained and deprived of his rights without explanation."
He is clearly being punished for his work covering the demonstrations. The authorities must clarify this behavior and stop the harassment
The Georgian authorities have not yet commented on the issue, and the reason for the photojournalist's refusal to enter is unknown.
Let us remind you
On March 27, as reported by the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers, the international organization World Press Photo announced 42 regional winners of the annual documentary photography competition.
Among the winners were also representatives of Russia and Belarus, as well as two German photographers whose work concerns the topic of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
One of the award-winning photographs is a portrait of a Ukrainian child who survived severe injuries as a result of the war.
Another award-winning photo shows a wounded occupier from the "DPR" in a field hospital near Bakhmut.
This choice of the jury caused criticism, in particular, from last year's winner of the World Press Photo, Ukrainian photographer Yulia Kochetova.
Obviously, I am surprised to see so much attention to the narrative of the "Russian soul" among the regional winners this year. I can't imagine how Georgian photographers feel because their protests against Russian influence were shown through the image of a photographer from a Russian state agency. This is a personal responsibility - how this war will be told in years. It is important to continue to testify and document