According to Daria Samodurova, the lawyer of prisoner of conscience and Russian activist Artem Gribul, her client was verbally abused by a prison officer and threatened with placement in solitary confinement and the fabrication of a new criminal case.
According to Samodurova, the incident began with a dispute between a prison officer, reportedly identified as “Makho,” and Gribul’s cellmate. Following the altercation, the officer transferred the inmate to solitary confinement and instructed Artem Gribul and other inmates in the cell to collect the prisoner’s belongings. The lawyer states that after Gribul refused to do so, the officer verbally insulted him and threatened to place him in solitary confinement. According to Samodurova, other prison staff later attempted to de-escalate the situation.Artem Gribul was arrested together with his partner, Anastasia Zinovkina, on 17 December 2024. The prosecution accused them of the acquisition and possession of a particularly large quantity of narcotic substances. On 12 September 2025, Judge Nino Galustashvili of the Tbilisi City Court sentenced both individuals to eight years and six months’ imprisonment. Gribul and Zinovkina deny the charges and state that they were detained in connection with their participation in pro-European protests in Georgia. Both are Russian citizens who had been residing temporarily in Georgia and had taken part in pro-European demonstrations during the months they lived in Tbilisi.
The Tbilisi Court of Appeals upheld the verdict delivered against Davit Khomeriki, who was detained during pro-European protests in December 2024. The decision was issued by Judge Paata Silagadze.
Davit Khomeriki had previously been sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment by Judge Nino Galustashvili of the Tbilisi City Court on charges of preparing an explosion. According to the prosecution, Khomeriki was in possession of an explosive device. The defence disputes the allegation and requested that the Court of Appeals overturn the conviction and find Khomeriki not guilty.
In Khomeriki’s case, the Public Defender of Georgia submitted an amicus curiae brief. The Public Defender’s Office considers that the conviction of Davit Khomeriki, who was detained during the December protests, is based on evidence obtained in violation of criminal procedural law.
The Tbilisi City Court found civil activist Nikoloz Tkemaladze liable for an administrative offence related to the alleged blocking of a roadway and subjected him to five days of administrative detention. Judge Davit Makaradze issued the decision. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia alleged that on 7 February 2026, during the “Saturday March,” Tkemaladze blocked a roadway on Rustaveli Avenue
Blocking a roadway became a punishable offence following the adoption of restrictive legislative amendments by the ruling party, Georgian Dream. This conduct is prohibited under Article 174¹, paragraph 10 of the Code of Administrative Offences. Subsequently, the scope of the same provision was expanded to include standing on the sidewalk, on the basis of which participants in demonstrations are also being held administratively liable. A violation of this provision entails administrative detention for up to 15 days (and up to 20 days for an organizer). Administrative detention does not apply to pregnant women, mothers with children under the age of 12, persons under the age of 18, or persons with pronounced or significant disabilities. Instead, they are subject to a fine of 5,000 GEL, or 15,000 GEL if the person is an organizer. Repeated commission of the same act entails criminal liability.
Judge Davit Makaradze of the Tbilisi City Court found civil activist Nuki Maisuradze liable for an administrative offence related to the alleged blocking of a roadway during the “Saturday March” and issued a verbal warning. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia alleged that on 7 February Maisuradze blocked a roadway on Rustaveli Avenue.
Blocking a roadway became a punishable offence following the adoption of restrictive legislative amendments by the ruling party, Georgian Dream. This conduct is prohibited under Article 174¹, paragraph 10 of the Code of Administrative Offences. Subsequently, the scope of the same provision was expanded to include standing on the sidewalk, on the basis of which participants in demonstrations are also being held administratively liable. A violation of this provision entails administrative detention for up to 15 days (and up to 20 days for an organizer). Administrative detention does not apply to pregnant women, mothers with children under the age of 12, persons under the age of 18, or persons with pronounced or significant disabilities. Instead, they are subject to a fine of 5,000 GEL, or 15,000 GEL if the person is an organizer. Repeated commission of the same act entails criminal liability.
Civil activist Lasha Gabitashvili was prevented from departing from Tbilisi International Airport for nearly two hours on 22 February without being provided with an explanation. Gabitashvili was scheduled to travel to Paris. According to his account, he holds both Georgian and Israeli citizenship and presented his Israeli passport at passport control. Gabitashvili stated that his passport was returned to him approximately one hour after the aircraft had departed, as a result of which he was unable to board the flight. Border police later indicated that the delay had been caused by a “technical error in the system.”In January 2025, Gabitashvili was physically confronted by members of Georgian Dream in Abu Dhabi. In February 2025, after returning to Tbilisi, he was reportedly attacked by three masked individuals.
Zurab Tsetskhladze, the father of prisoner of conscience Zviad Tsetskhladze, states that in the case concerning standing on a sidewalk during a protest, Judge Nino Enukidze terminated the administrative proceedings and referred the case to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA), indicating that the matter may contain elements of a criminal offence.
The continuation of the case under criminal law is linked to legislative amendments introduced by the ruling party, Georgian Dream, to the Code of Administrative Offences. Under these amendments, the repeated obstruction of pedestrian or vehicular movement during an assembly or demonstration may give rise to criminal liability.
According to Tsetskhladze, the police drew up the administrative offence report on 9 February 2026. The report was issued under Article 174¹(10) of the Code of Administrative Offences. This provision covers several types of administrative offences, including covering one’s face with a mask or other means; creating obstacles to the movement of pedestrians or vehicles; and artificially blocking the roadway used by vehicles or pedestrians. Under Article 347 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, the repeated commission of any of the acts defined in the aforementioned provisions by a person who has already been sanctioned under those articles is punishable by imprisonment for up to one year.
Judge Tornike Kochkian of the Tbilisi City Court found two civil activists, Mariam Chkhaidze and Lali Kekua, liable for administrative offences related to the alleged blocking of a roadway. Their cases were examined jointly. Mariam Chkhaidze was subjected to two days of administrative detention, while Lali Kekua was subjected to three days of administrative detention. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA) alleged that both activists had blocked a roadway on Rustaveli Avenue during the “Saturday March” held on 7 February 2026.
Blocking a roadway became a punishable offence following the adoption of restrictive legislative amendments by the ruling party, Georgian Dream. This conduct is prohibited under Article 174¹, paragraph 10 of the Code of Administrative Offences. Subsequently, the scope of the same provision was expanded to include standing on the sidewalk, on the basis of which participants in demonstrations are also being held administratively liable. A violation of this provision entails administrative detention for up to 15 days (and up to 20 days for an organizer). Administrative detention does not apply to pregnant women, mothers with children under the age of 12, persons under the age of 18, or persons with pronounced or significant disabilities. Instead, they are subject to a fine of 5,000 GEL, or 15,000 GEL if the person is an organizer. Repeated commission of the same act entails criminal liability.
Judge Tornike Kochkian of the Tbilisi City Court found civil activist Sopho Markozia liable for an administrative offence related to the blocking of a roadway and subjected her to three days of administrative detention. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA) alleged that on 7 February 2026, during the “Saturday March,” Markozia blocked a roadway on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi.
Blocking a roadway became a punishable offence following the adoption of restrictive legislative amendments by the ruling party, Georgian Dream. This conduct is prohibited under Article 174¹, paragraph 10 of the Code of Administrative Offences. Subsequently, the scope of the same provision was expanded to include standing on the sidewalk, on the basis of which participants in demonstrations are also being held administratively liable. A violation of this provision entails administrative detention for up to 15 days (and up to 20 days for an organizer). Administrative detention does not apply to pregnant women, mothers with children under the age of 12, persons under the age of 18, or persons with pronounced or significant disabilities. Instead, they are subject to a fine of 5,000 GEL, or 15,000 GEL if the person is an organizer. Repeated commission of the same act entails criminal liability.
Civil activist Baia Margishvili was subjected to a preventive measure of bail in the amount of 5,000 GEL in a criminal case initiated against her on charges of contempt of court. The bail measure was imposed in her absence.
The incident that gave rise to the investigation occurred on 7 November 2025. On that day, Judge Zviad Tsekvava of the Tbilisi City Court was hearing a case concerning the alleged artificial blocking of a roadway by Margishvili. During the hearing, Margishvili stated: “They have torn the Constitution over your head – what are you talking about? This is how they have torn the Constitution over your head.” She then took the hearing record, tore it up, and scattered the pieces on the table in front of the judge. Following the incident, she was fined 200 GEL and removed from the courtroom.
On 10 February of the current year, Margishvili was notified that criminal proceedings had been initiated against her in connection with the same incident for which she had previously been fined. She has been charged under Article 366(2) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which concerns the insult of a judge or juror and is punishable by a fine, corrective labour for a term of one to two years, or imprisonment for up to two years.
Judge Davit Makaradze of the Tbilisi City Court found civil activist Giorgi Romelashvili liable for an administrative offence related to the blocking of a roadway and subjected him to four days of administrative detention. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA) alleged that on 7 February 2026, during the “Saturday March,” Romelashvili blocked a roadway on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi.Blocking a roadway became a punishable offence following the adoption of restrictive legislative amendments by the ruling party, Georgian Dream. This conduct is prohibited under Article 174¹, paragraph 10 of the Code of Administrative Offences. Subsequently, the scope of the same provision was expanded to include standing on the sidewalk, on the basis of which participants in demonstrations are also being held administratively liable. A violation of this provision entails administrative detention for up to 15 days (and up to 20 days for an organizer). Administrative detention does not apply to pregnant women, mothers with children under the age of 12, persons under the age of 18, or persons with pronounced or significant disabilities. Instead, they are subject to a fine of 5,000 GEL, or 15,000 GEL if the person is an organizer. Repeated commission of the same act entails criminal liability.
