Judge Nino Enukidze fined activist Mikheil Zakareishvili GEL 4,000 over posts published on Facebook. The Ministry of Internal Affairs accused him of verbally insulting Bidzina Ivanishvili, Bera Ivanishvili, Shalva Papuashvili, and Judge Nana Shamatava.
According to the case materials, the MIA was informed about the alleged administrative offence by Merab Ghoghoberidze via email. The information he provided concerned allegedly insulting statements made about Bera Ivanishvili and Shalva Papuashvili. As for the posts concerning Bidzina Ivanishvili and Judge Nana Shamatava, according to the MIA inspector’s report, they were identified after reviewing Mikheil Zakareishvili’s Facebook page. According to the case materials, Zakareishvili published the disputed posts on 2 June, 17 June, and 3 July 2026.
The MIA accused Zakareishvili of offences under Article 166(1) of the Code of Administrative Offences, petty hooliganism, and Article 173¹⁶(1), which concerns insulting state-political and public officials.
Administrative proceedings against citizens over statements made in public spaces, including on social media, are being initiated on the basis of reports drawn up by the newly established “Division for Combating Hate Speech” within the MIA. The division has been operating since 1 June, and its task is to monitor and proactively identify statements that degrade human dignity, are insulting, or contain hate speech.
