Judge Manuchar Tsatsua of the Tbilisi City Court found the Dean of the Business School at Caucasus University, Elene Jgharkava, liable for an administrative offence for standing on the sidewalk during a protest and issued her a verbal warning. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA) alleged that on 17 December 2025 Jgharkava created an obstruction for pedestrians on the sidewalk near 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 18 activists have already been found liable for administrative offences. Of these, nine were sentenced to administrative detention, while nine (predominantly women) received verbal warnings.
