The Abkhazian Union of Journalists expressed alarm in a statement about the growing frequency of involvement by the authorities in the occupied territory in the operations of the state media, which blatantly breaches existing legislation.

The statement added that [de-facto] government officials have been exerting pressure on state media editorial departments and cited the occupied region's Mass Media Law, which states that censorship is unacceptable.

According to the Union, a notable instance of such censorship was the exclusion of journalists from a recent meeting of the Social and Political Forces of Abkhazia on November 23. De-facto Abkhazian Union of Journalists stated, "We know from credible sources that media outlets were told not to attend or cover the event." The Union emphasized that this impediment restricts editorial offices' activities and infringes on citizens' rights to timely, accurate information through the media on the activities of public associations.

The Union demanded a response to the violation and the overall facts of the attempted censorship of media from the Kremlin-backed [separatist] Abkhaz leader Aslan Bzhania, as well as from the [de-facto] Speaker of the Parliament and the Prosecutor General. The Union emphasized that freedom of speech is a national treasure guaranteed by the country's constitution, and under no circumstances can infringement of the rights and freedom of citizens, journalists, and media outlets be allowed.