Levan Zhvania, a civil activist, was subjected to 4 days of administrative detention. The Ministry of Internal Affairs alleged that he was standing on the roadway during protest actions.
According to Zhvania’s lawyer, the video evidence presented in the case file does not substantiate that his client committed any violation. He stated that Zhvania was present at a protest and participating in an assembly, and that, in the defence’s assessment, his conduct did not exceed the limits permitted by law.
On 16 October 2025, Georgian Dream adopted legislative amendments to the Criminal Code of Georgia and the Code of Administrative Offences of Georgia, which significantly restrict the forms through which demonstrators may express peaceful protest. Under these amendments, Article 174¹ of the Code of Administrative Offences was supplemented with paragraph 10, providing that participants in assemblies and demonstrations shall be subject to mandatory administrative detention for certain acts. These include, inter alia, covering one’s face with a mask or other means, possessing tear gas or similar substances, intentionally creating obstacles to pedestrian or vehicular movement, installing temporary structures, or partially or fully blocking a roadway.
A violation of this provision is punishable by administrative detention for up to 15 days, or up to 20 days in the case of an organizer. The amendments also introduced changes to the Criminal Code of Georgia, providing that the repeated commission of the above-mentioned acts within a one-year period may result in criminal liability.
