Judge Manuchar Tsatsua of the Tbilisi City Court found activist and musician Giorgi Bulia liable for an administrative offence for standing on the sidewalk during a protest and was subjected to administrative detention for two days. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) alleged that on 17 December Giorgi Bulia created an obstruction to the movement of pedestrians in the vicinity of the Parliament of Georgia
Administrative proceedings against citizens in relation to sidewalk protests commenced following legislative amendments adopted by Georgian Dream on 12 December 2025. As a result of these amendments, protest activity on sidewalks was, in effect, also prohibited. For a first violation, the legislation provides for administrative detention for a period of up to 15 days (up to 20 days in the case of an organizer), while a repeated violation may result in the imposition of criminal liability. According to the assessment of Transparency International Georgia, “the detention of an individual for standing on a sidewalk, even under administrative procedure, let alone the imposition of criminal punishment cannot withstand any criticism when assessed against the standards of freedom of assembly guaranteed by the Constitution of Georgia and by international human rights instruments.”
In the so-called “sidewalk cases,” a total of 17 activists have already been found liable for administrative offences. Of these, nine were sentenced to administrative detention, while eight (predominantly women) received verbal warnings.
