The BBC has responded to a lawsuit filed by Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, concerning its investigative documentary “When Water Burns: The Fight for Georgia,” Formula TV reports.
In a statement to the broadcaster, a BBC spokesperson said the organisation stands by its reporting and confirmed that it has already addressed the complainant’s questions in accordance with its established complaints procedure.
“We stand by the journalism presented in the BBC Eye documentary ‘When Water Burns: The Fight for Georgia’ and our independent, investigative journalism about the Georgian government’s response to the ongoing protests in Tbilisi,” the spokesperson said.
The complaint relates to both an article and the documentary published by the BBC, which alleged that the Georgian government used a chemical agent dating back to the World War I era to disperse anti-government protests in 2024.
Based on the BBC’s report, demonstrators protesting the government’s suspension of Georgia’s EU accession process reported symptoms including burning eyes, shortness of breath, coughing and vomiting, with some saying the effects lasted for weeks. The BBC World Service stated that it consulted chemical weapons experts, Georgian special forces personnel and medical professionals, whose assessments indicated that the substance used resembled an agent referred to by the French military as “camite.”
On January 15, Georgian Dream announced at a briefing that it had filed a complaint regarding the BBC’s coverage.
The ruling party has rejected the allegations, while the BBC maintains that its investigation was conducted independently and in line with its editorial standards.
