Persecution Due to Civil Activism

Pro-Government Media Covered the Visit of Civil Society Representatives to Strasbourg in a Discrediting Manner

The pro-government media outlet TV Imedi covered the visit of Nino Dolidze, Giorgi Burjanadze, and Giorgi Oniani to Strasbourg. According to available information, they met with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset.

In the Kronika report, the visit was covered in a discrediting context and described as a “familiar scenario” and an action “against one’s own country.” The report stated that, based on their comments made in media outlets “acceptable to them,” the topic of the meeting with Alain Berset was again “sanctions and punitive mechanisms.”

A similar narrative was disseminated by other pro-government media outlets as well, including POSTV. In these materials, the visit and international meetings of civil society representatives were again portrayed as actions directed against the country and as an attempt to support sanctions.

Such coverage portrays the international advocacy of civil society representatives as action directed against the country. The material repeats a narrative according to which the activities of critical civic actors are directed not toward democratic processes and the protection of human rights, but toward harming the state.

Theona Baghdavadze Fined GEL 1,500 for Insulting Natia Beridze on Social Media

Tbilisi City Court found Theona Baghdavadze administratively liable and imposed a GEL 1,500 fine. The case concerns alleged verbal insult directed at Natia Beridze on social media.

According to the available information, the case concerns a video published by Theona Baghdavadze on Facebook, in which POSTV representative Natia Beridze asks her questions and, during the conversation, mentions Baghdavadze’s late sister. Baghdavadze attached a comment to the video in which she described Beridze’s conduct as “disgusting” and said that she was manipulating the name of the person most important to her.

The case was initiated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Division for Combating Hate Speech. The division forwarded the materials to the court, after which the court found the conduct to constitute an administrative offence.

Tbilisi Court of Appeals Upheld the Sentence Imposed on Activists Anastasia Zinovkina and Artem Gribul

Tbilisi Court of Appeals upheld the sentence imposed on Russian activists Anastasia Zinovkina and Artem Gribul, who are being held in a Georgian prison.

Anastasia Zinovkina and Artem Gribul have been sentenced to 8.5 years’ imprisonment on charges of drug possession. They do not admit guilt and say that the drugs were “planted” on them because of their participation in the “December protests.”

Anastasia Zinovkina and Artem Gribul participated in pro-European rallies held in Tbilisi, where they provided protesters with hot drinks. According to them, this became the reason for their detention.

Anastasia Zinovkina has a serious health condition and has repeatedly accused the prison administration of neglect and degrading treatment.

Archil Museliantsi Describes Harsh Prison Conditions in a Letter Sent from Prison

Archil Museliantsi, who was detained during the pro-European protest rallies and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment over damage amounting to GEL 534, sent a letter from prison to TV Formula. In the letter, Museliantsi writes about harsh sanitary and hygienic conditions, inadequate food quality, limited access to medical care, and degrading treatment by penitentiary staff.

According to Museliantsi, sewage water was drying inside the basement quarantine area, while prisoners had to remain in those conditions. He says that when prisoners asked the duty officer to move them to another, dry cell, the officer responded rudely: “What am I supposed to do?” Museliantsi also writes that after spending seven days in the cell, he developed a fever but could not receive medication in a timely manner. According to him, he asked for paracetamol for two days, and was taken to a doctor only during the third shift, when his temperature was 38.6°C.

In the letter, Museliantsi also points to the quality of food and writes that most prisoners try to rely on the prison shop and parcels for food, because in the event of mass food poisoning, he says, “one doctor would not be able to handle 400 people.”

The Special Penitentiary Service responded to Museliantsi’s letter and called the information he disseminated “false.” According to the agency, Museliantsi’s allegations are an attempt to discredit the penitentiary system and do not reflect the actual situation in the institutions

Discrediting Rhetoric against Civil Society and Protest Participants Continues

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili made discrediting statements about Eka Gigauri, Executive Director of Transparency International Georgia. The statements were later disseminated as cards on the Facebook page of the pro-government TV channel Imedi.

According to Shalva Papuashvili, “no one asks Eka Gigauri anything” and she “carries out tasks given to her from outside.” Papuashvili also said: “If you find out who funds this person, you will find out who is hostile to Georgia.”

Irakli Kobakhidze referred to Eka Gigauri’s organization as a “party appendage” and stated that it “was never either non-governmental or an NGO.”

In addition, another statement by Kobakhidze concerned the discrediting of the ongoing protest. He referred to the protest as the “so-called protest of the radicals’ agency” and described its continuation as “sectarianism.”

Such statements by high-ranking officials and their dissemination as cards repeat a narrative that portrays critical civil society organizations and protest participants not as independent civic actors, but as groups acting under external influence or in line with party interests. Such messages can be assessed as part of the ongoing discrediting campaign against Eka Gigauri, Transparency International Georgia, and participants of the pro-European protest.

Kordz’s Concert in Gori Postponed for Security Reasons

The concert of musician Aleksandre Kordzaia, known as Kordz, scheduled for 26 September in Gori, was postponed. The concert was to be held as part of the Kamara Festival, organized by the Danish Cultural Institute. According to the organizer, the festival cannot take place in its planned form due to security considerations.

According to the musician, the concert planned in Gori was “under serious threat.” Kordzaia cites attacks and threats from local authorities, Georgian Dream members, and pro-government media as the reason, writing that there were no security guarantees on site.

The cancellation of the concert was preceded by a campaign by government-affiliated actors and media, as well as questions directed at the EU Ambassador on whether the EU shares responsibility for “insulting more than one million Georgians.” Georgian Dream MPs described Kordz’s concert as “encouraging radicalism” and “contributing to the deepening of polarization in society.”

The EU Delegation also responded to the postponement of the festival. The Delegation expressed regret that the festival planned within the EU-funded Creative Compass Georgia project had been postponed by the organizers due to security-related considerations.

Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili responded to the EU Delegation’s statement and accused the Delegation of encouraging “hate speech.” Papuashvili referred to Kordz as someone who “insults the majority of Georgia’s population” and stated that the EU Delegation is engaged in encouraging “fascism, radicalism, and profanity.”

Aleksandre Kordzaia is among the musicians known for supporting pro-European protest rallies. In July 2026, he was attacked in Tbilisi.

Activist Ana Bdeiani Fined GEL 4,000 over Alleged Insult against Irakli Kobakhidze

Judge Davit Makaradze imposed a GEL 4,000 fine on activist Ana Bdeiani. The MIA accused her of insulting a state-political official under Article 173¹⁶ of the Code of Administrative Offences.

The case concerns a Facebook comment Bdeiani wrote under a video by Tornike Razmadze. In the video, Razmadze discussed statements made by Irakli Kobakhidze and Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan regarding the Treaty of Georgievsk.

Administrative proceedings have also been initiated against Tornike Razmadze over a comment written under the same video. Razmadze’s offence report refers only to Article 166, which concerns swearing in a public space, while insulting a state-political official is regulated by Article 173¹⁶. According to the lawyer, the offence report has not yet been amended.

Ana Bdeiani’s case is linked to administrative proceedings initiated over comments published on social media, which form part of the practice of the newly established “Division for Combating Hate Speech” within the MIA.

A Statement Aimed at Discrediting Participants of the Pro-European Protest Was Disseminated on Imedi’s Broadcast

On the pro-government TV channel Imedi’s program Open Air, a former GIPA student stated that she left the university because, according to her, lecturers forced students to attend rallies and awarded them grades in return.

Imedi also shared this segment of the program on social media with the following text: “Former GIPA student: GIPA lecturers forced us to attend rallies, and we received grades for it.”

The dissemination of a statement with this content should be assessed as part of the ongoing discrediting campaign against participants of the pro-European protest and activists, as it creates the impression that students’ participation in rallies was driven not by an independent civic position, but by personal

Educational Seminar Held in Bakhmaro Became a Target of Criticism and Discrediting by Pro-Government Media and Government Representatives

An educational seminar organized by the Tbilisi School of Political Studies was held in Bakhmaro. According to available information, the seminar was held with the support of the Council of Europe and was attended by representatives of the diplomatic corps, including EU Ambassador Paweł Herczyński.

Pro-government media outlet Imedi covered the seminar in the context of the Law on Grants and focused on whether the organization and funding of the seminar had received state approval.

The Tbilisi School of Political Studies was established as a non-governmental organization in 1999. The school operates under the auspices of the Council of Europe and is headed by politician Armaz Akhvlediani.

High-ranking officials also commented on the matter. Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili called the seminar a “political project” and said that if the project is funded by the Council of Europe, it should be clarified whether it had government approval. Papuashvili also linked the seminar to Armaz Akhvlediani’s political activities and said that the Council of Europe Office in Georgia has questions to answer on this issue.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also commented on the seminar. According to him, “everyone must respect Georgian legislation, including legislation on transparency.” Kobakhidze said the authorities would look into the matter and, if relevant circumstances are established, there would be a legal response.

On 21 September, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili again spoke about the seminar organized by the Tbilisi School of Political Studies at a briefing held in Parliament. Papuashvili called Armaz Akhvlediani a “radical opposition figure” and voiced accusations against the Council of Europe Office in Georgia. According to him, the case may involve circumvention of the law, which the State Audit Office will examine.

On the same day, the State Audit Office announced that its Department of Political Finance Monitoring had launched monitoring into the alleged receipt of a grant by NNLE “Union Tbilisi School of Political Studies” without the approval of the Government of Georgia.

According to the agency, in examining the matter, it will act within the powers granted by Georgian legislation, including the Law of Georgia on Grants. The State Audit Office says that, as part of the monitoring, it will carry out all necessary actions gradually and sequentially, including questioning persons who may have information related to the matter and reviewing all relevant documentation.

Amendments to the Law on Grants were adopted by Georgian Dream on 16 April 2025. Under the amendments, a grant issuer must apply to the Government of Georgia to obtain approval for issuing a grant, while a grant recipient that receives a grant without approval will be fined twice the amount of the grant. The amendments also granted additional powers to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, including the authority to request financial reports, question individuals, and request special categories of personal data. Civil society criticized the amendments, stating that the law aims to leave “citizens face to face with the ruling party’s punitive system” and to restrict international support.

Mikheil Zakareishvili Fined GEL 4,000 over Facebook Posts

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.