In this issue, our surprise guests are Georgian journalist Irma Dimitradze and Serbian student Stefan Tomić.

At the award ceremony for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought organised by the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Irma Dimitradze stood in for 2025 laureate Mzia Amaglobeli, Georgia’s first female journalist to become a political prisoner, now jailed for more than a year.                  

For EESC Info, Irma writes about the collapse of Georgia’s democracy and the rise of a pro-Kremlin authoritarian regime that imprisons protesters, targets journalists and crushes the country’s European hopes. However, Georgia’s democratic decline is no isolated event; it is part of a wider push by authoritarian forces that edge closer to Europe each day.

Also nominated for the Sakharov prize were journalists and humanitarian workers in Palestine and all conflict zones, along with Serbian students who have been protesting against government corruption and impunity at home. Student Stefan Tomić spoke to us in Strasbourg about the massive student-led protests that have been shaking Serbia since November 2024.