On April 3, Judge Tornike Kapanadze of the Tbilisi City Court found three civil activists liable for administrative offences in connection with a protest held on a sidewalk. One of them, Abkhaz war participant Zosime Bzhalava, was sentenced to 2 days of administrative detention, while the other two – Naniko Bedineishvili and Vika Dzandzava – received a verbal warning.

According to Bzhalava’s lawyer, Malkhaz Pataraia, Zosime Bzhalava is an internally displaced person from Abkhazia. In his assessment, the court’s decision is unlawful and incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and the Constitution.

Administrative proceedings against citizens in relation to sidewalk protests commenced following legislative amendments adopted by Georgian Dream on 12 December 2025.  The amendments were adopted following accelerated parliamentary consideration over a three-day period. 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.”