Georgian authorities seized the financial accounts of independent news outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti over tax arrears, days ahead of an expected verdict in the trial of the outlets’ director, Mzia Amaglobeli, who has been jailed since January on charges widely viewed as politically motivated.

“The unwarranted seizure of Batumelebi and Netgazeti’s bank accounts confirms what has been clear from the start of Mzia Amaglobeli’s trumped-up trial – that authorities’ goal is to silence two of Georgia’s most respected news outlets and the courageous woman who runs them,” said CPJ Chief Global Affairs Officer Gypsy Guillén Kaiser. “Georgian authorities should lift all undue restrictions on media outlets’ accounts, release Amaglobeli, and end their campaign against the independent press.”

Batumelebi reported that Georgia’s Revenue Service seized the accounts of the outlets’ legal entity, Gazeti Batumelebi, on July 17, after previously giving it just five days to pay accumulated tax debts, interest, and penalties totaling around US$100,000.

CPJ and international partners monitored the July 14 trial of Amaglobeli, who was jailed over an altercation with a local police chief, and denounced the charges against her as “disproportionate and politicized.” A verdict is expected on August 1, with the prominent media manager facing between four and seven years in prison and declining health.

The measures “appear aimed at breaking [Amaglobeli] personally and, ultimately, destroying the media organization she founded,” Batumelebi said in its statement.

The outlet, which is known for its coverage of human rights issues and scrutiny of authorities, said it had been paying off the debt and pointed to the much higher arrears of pro-government media as a “telling example” of “the selectivity of this pressure.”

The Revenue Service said in a July 22 Facebook post that the seizure of Gazeti Batumelebi’s accounts was carried out “automatically” and it was ready to lift the measure and allow the company to cover its debts “in the event of a tax agreement.”

Batumelebi said the Revenue Service repeatedly declined its proposed payment plans both before and after the seizure.

In recent weeks, two independent broadcasters have reported similar account seizures over tax arrears, alleging political pressure. The moves come amid an unprecedented media crackdown and authoritarian turn by the ruling Georgian Dream party, with a series of repressive new laws on the press and extensive police violence against journalists.