On 6 July 2026, writer and protest participant Beka Kurkhuli was fined GEL 3,000 on the grounds of allegedly publishing insulting posts on social media. The decision was delivered by Judge Nino Enukidze of Tbilisi City Court.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs accused Beka Kurkhuli of verbal abuse in a public space, classified as petty hooliganism. According to the Ministry, Kurkhuli published several posts, comments, and videos on Facebook in which he “uses obscene words and phrases,” some of which were directed at Bidzina Ivanishvili, honorary chair of Georgian Dream, and Gia Gachechiladze, a presenter on Maestro.

Beka Kurkhuli told TV Pirveli that the case also concerned an opinion he had expressed on television. According to him, several weeks earlier, while speaking on TV Pirveli, he discussed the problems he faced at the border upon returning from Ukraine and criticized Bidzina Ivanishvili, which was treated as an insult.

Administrative proceedings against citizens over opinions expressed in the public space are being initiated on the basis of administrative offence reports drawn up by the newly created MIA Division for Combating Hate Speech. The new division has been operating within the MIA since 1 June. Its mandate is to monitor and proactively identify publicly disseminated statements that are degrading to human dignity, insulting, or contain hate speech, where such statements may contain elements of an administrative offence.

According to Radio Liberty, between 1 June and 2 July, after the division became operational, it identified 170 alleged administrative offences, of which 150 cases have already been submitted to court. Decisions have already been delivered in 33 of these 150 cases: 31 individuals were fined, while two individuals received verbal warnings. Most of those fined are citizens and activists.