 Media/government relations worsened in the following years, with the 2007 closure of the critical Imedi TV station among political protests, as well as the 2008 Russo-Georgian War.In 2009 press freedom was among the top political issues in Georgia, with a battle between government and opposition for control over the public service broadcaster and the denunciation of pro-governmental media outlets, which also included various forms of intimidation of journalists (e.g.pickets and "corridors of shame").