An active protest participant, activist Ani Chrdileli, was imposed 2 days of administrative detention by Judge Zviad Tsekvava. The Ministry of Internal Affairs alleged that Chrdileli had artificially blocked a roadway in the vicinity of the Parliament on March 7.
On 16 October 2025, Georgian Dream adopted legislative amendments to the Criminal Code of Georgia and the Code of Administrative Offences of Georgia, which significantly restrict the forms through which demonstrators may express peaceful protest. Under these amendments, Article 174¹ of the Code of Administrative Offences was supplemented with paragraph 10, providing that participants in assemblies and demonstrations shall be subject to mandatory administrative detention for certain acts. These include, inter alia, covering one’s face with a mask or other means, possessing tear gas or similar substances, intentionally creating obstacles to pedestrian or vehicular movement, installing temporary structures, or partially or fully blocking a roadway.
A violation of this provision is punishable by administrative detention for up to 15 days, or up to 20 days in the case of an organizer. The amendments also introduced changes to the Criminal Code of Georgia, providing that the repeated commission of the above-mentioned acts within a one-year period may result in criminal liability.
Civil activist Giorgi Akhobadze shared information on social media and published a photo, according to which the National Bureau of Enforcement notified him that his bank accounts had been placed under seizure. According to the document, the amount subject to seizure is 5,350 GEL.
The activist has not provided any further explanation; however, in light of existing practice, it is likely that the case concerns fines related to allegations of blocking a road. Recently, a number of similar cases have been documented, where activists had not been informed in advance about the fines and learned of them only after seizure measures were imposed on their bank accounts.In the same context, writer Beka Kurkhuli also wrote on social media: “Our ‘honourable government’ placed my bank account under seizure while I am in the combat zone in the Donetsk region, in the war in Ukraine. First, they fined me 35,000 GEL for standing in my own city, on my own Rustaveli Avenue, and for defending the children they mercilessly targeted and beat; then, as soon as they found out that I was at war, they imposed the seizure,” Kurkhuli wrote.
The conditions of imprisonment of poet Zviad Ratiani, who has been in prison since June 23, 2025 and is serving a sentence of deprivation of liberty in Gldani N8 Penitentiary Institution, have been made more restrictive; his regime has been changed from semi-open to closed. A semi-open regime allows a prisoner to serve the sentence in an open-type custodial setting, whereas a closed regime entails full isolation, including a significant reduction in the number of visits. According to Ratiani, he has in fact been held under closed conditions since the day of his arrest and has been placed in a solitary cell for six months.
Ratiani writes that on April 6 the penitentiary institution informed him that he is classified as a convict posing an “increased risk of danger,” on the basis of which his regime was changed. According to his explanation, in reality he has already for months been held in practically closed conditions, including in a solitary cell.
“As it appears, the aim was to further reduce my already limited visits… but what ‘increased risk of danger’ means in my case is the main question,” Ratiani writes. According to him, he has not had any conflict either with other prisoners or with the staff of the institution. The “risk assessment” cited as the basis for the decision relies on a “minutes of a closed session.” Zviad Ratiani addressed an open letter to the Minister of Justice, Paata Salia, and the leadership of the penitentiary system, in which he requests clarification on what grounds he was classified as a person of “increased risk.”
Zviad Ratiani was arrested on June 23, 2025 for slapping a police officer. On October 9, Judge Giorgi Gelashvili sentenced him to 2 years of imprisonment.
The Tbilisi City Court found several activists liable for administrative offences on charges of blocking the road. The decisions were issued by Judge Koba Chagunava.
Protest participant Rezi Dumbadze was sentenced to 4 days of administrative detention. The Ministry of Internal Affairs charged him with artificially blocking a roadway on January 31.
The same judge imposed 3 days of administrative detention on Zviad Mariamidze. Ana Meburishvili and Natia Tsitsilashvili were issued verbal warnings by the court.
On 16 October 2025, Georgian Dream adopted legislative amendments to the Criminal Code of Georgia and the Code of Administrative Offences of Georgia, which significantly restrict the forms through which demonstrators may express peaceful protest. Under these amendments, Article 174¹ of the Code of Administrative Offences was supplemented with paragraph 10, providing that participants in assemblies and demonstrations shall be subject to mandatory administrative detention for certain acts. These include, inter alia, covering one’s face with a mask or other means, possessing tear gas or similar substances, intentionally creating obstacles to pedestrian or vehicular movement, installing temporary structures, or partially or fully blocking a roadway.
A violation of this provision is punishable by administrative detention for up to 15 days, or up to 20 days in the case of an organizer. The amendments also introduced changes to the Criminal Code of Georgia, providing that the repeated commission of the above-mentioned acts within a one-year period may result in criminal liability.
Civil activist Tamuna Giorgadze writes on social media that Judge Manuchar Tsatsua of the Tbilisi City Court found Taso Dolidze liable for an administrative offence in connection with a protest held on the sidewalk and imposed 2 days of administrative detention.
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.”
The civil activist, who is an active participant in the protest rallies, writes on social media that a postal courier delivered to her part of the seizure orders, which are related to the non-payment of fines imposed on her.
According to a statement she published on social media, a postal courier delivered several seizure orders to her, related to fines imposed on her. She reports that she received six such orders in one day, while the total number amounts to 21, each concerning a fine of 5,000 GEL. The activist indicates that the sanctions are likely linked to her participation in protest actions and allegations of blocking a roadway.
Judge Tea Leonidze of the Tbilisi Court of Appeal upheld the judgment of the court of first instance and found guilty 11 individuals detained during the December 2024 protests.
The convicted individuals are: Andro Chichinadze, Onise Tskhadadze, Guram Mirtkhulava, Jano Archaia, Luka Jabua, Ruslan Sivakov, Revaz Kiknadze, Giorgi Terishvili, Valeri Tetrashvili, Sergei Kukharchuk, and Irakli Kerashvili. Each was sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment. The court qualified them as participants in group action. In their appellate complaints, the convicted persons sought the quashing of the first instance judgment and the delivery of an acquittal.
At first instance, Judge Nino Galustashvili of the Tbilisi City Court reclassified the initial charge (Article 225 of the Criminal Code) to Article 226, which concerns the organization of, or participation in, group action entailing a gross violation of public order. The Prosecutor’s Office, in the appellate proceedings, contested the judgment insofar as it concerned the legal qualification and requested that the defendants be convicted under a more serious provision participation in group violence.
On April 15, the bank accounts of three civil activists – Natia Megrelishvili, Natia Artmeladze, and Tamta Chkhaidze were seized for non-payment of fines, of which none of them had been notified. The activists reported the seizure on social media.
Tamta Chkhaidze, the spouse of “prisoner of conscience” Giorgi Okmelashvili and an active participant in protests, has been fined a total of 25,000 GEL. In comments to Batumelebi, she stated that she does not intend to pay the fines and has appealed the seizure. Giorgi Okmelashvili, a participant in protests against the so-called “Russian law,” was sentenced on May 17, 2024 to 5 years of imprisonment on charges of insulting a police officer.
Under Article 174¹ of the Code of Administrative Offences, “artificial blocking of the road” constitutes a violation of the rules governing the organization and conduct of assemblies and demonstrations. Since February 7, 2025, the fine for “artificially blocking the road” has increased tenfold to 5,000 GEL. Hundreds of participants in pro-European protests have reportedly been issued such fines, with the cumulative amount reaching several million GEL. Where fines remain unpaid, enforcement measures include the seizure of bank accounts. Multiple such cases have already been documented.
Civil activist Vakhtang Gagnidze, an active participant in the ongoing protests, was sentenced to 3 days of administrative detention by Judge Koba Chagunava.
According to Gagnidze’s lawyer, Dimitri Vardiashvili, the court considered several cases jointly, including allegations of artificially blocking a roadway and creating an obstruction for pedestrians on the sidewalk. Both offences fall under Article 174¹, paragraph 10 of the Code of Administrative Offences. The lawyer stated that Gagnidze was unable to attend the hearing due to his health condition. According to the same source, he suffers from severe pain and is simultaneously raising funds to cover medical treatment expenses.
Following the court’s decision, Gagnidze wrote on social media: “I could have avoided administrative detention for myself — you are aware of my surgeries and you also know that my rehabilitation is not going very well. But this is a different matter… When my friends are being detained on absurd charges allegedly for restricting pedestrians on the sidewalk when my fellow protesters are imprisoned for years because of protest, I cannot run around holding a piece of paper and boast that ‘they cannot detain me, I am untouchable.’
There is another issue: I, who a month ago was facing the possibility of losing my leg and survived, now have to undergo rehabilitation in damp conditions. From a human perspective, this makes no sense they could have given me some time to recover and then imposed detention. It’s alright everything will be fine.”
Civil activist Shako Baghdoshvili, who was detained during the confrontation that took place near the April 9 Memorial and who himself sustained physical injuries, was held for several hours in a police station and was ultimately released, with the police stating that he had been questioned as a witness.
The incident occurred on April 9, when members of “Georgian Dream” appeared at the site. Before their arrival, so-called “titushky” approached the protesters who had spent the night near Parliament. A verbal and physical confrontation then took place between the protesters and the citizens present at the scene. According to the protesters, active participants in the ongoing demonstrations were physically assaulted by a supporter of “Georgian Dream.” Shako Baghdoshvili sustained serious injuries, the traces of which were clearly visible on him. Despite this, instead of detaining the assailants, the police detained Baghdoshvili. His lawyer spent several hours trying to establish his whereabouts. Late at night, the police stated that he had been questioned as a witness and, after being held for several hours, Baghdoshvili was released.
It should be recalled that, on the same day and in the same circumstances, another activist, Shota Odishvili, was also detained. He was wearing a T-shirt bearing the image of Bidzina Ivanishvili with an obscene inscription. Judge Zviad Tsekvava of the Tbilisi City Court sentenced him to 10 days of administrative detention, purportedly on the grounds of petty hooliganism and disobedience to police.
