Administrative Offense / Legal Practice

MIA Accuses Giorgi Gogia of Disturbing Public Order over a Facebook Post about Bera Ivanishvili

The Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Division for Combating Hate Speech accuses Giorgi Gogia of an administrative offence over a post published on Facebook. According to the Ministry, by sharing a post about Bera Ivanishvili, Gogia verbally insulted him and disturbed public order.

The case was heard by Judge Tornike Kochkiani at Tbilisi City Court. The hearing held on 19 June lasted for more than an hour, while the stage of explanations was postponed until 26 June.

Gogia’s lawyer, Mikheil Zakareishvili, argues that the case does not sufficiently substantiate how the Ministry of Internal Affairs identified the author of the post, or what scale of audience the post reached. According to him, the post published on social media had only 35 reactions and one comment.

According to the MIA lawyer, there is no need to examine Bera Ivanishvili in court, as the alleged insult and petty hooliganism had already been “identified by the relevant officer.”

The Division for Combating Hate Speech has been operating within the Ministry of Internal Affairs since 1 June. According to publicly available information, as of 15 June, the division had submitted approximately 60 cases to courts.

Civil activist Tamuna Giorgadze faces a fine of up to GEL 5,000 or administrative detention for up to 20 days over a Facebook post containing a curse directed at Bidzina Ivanishvili

On 17 June, civil activist Tamuna Giorgadze was notified of a complaint filed against her in a case pursued by the Division for Monitoring Public Communication and informed that the court hearing would take place in two hours. According to available information, the case concerns a post published on social media.

Later, it was reported that administrative proceedings had been initiated against civil activist Tamuna Giorgadze in connection with a Facebook post concerning Bidzina Ivanishvili. The administrative offence report, dated 15 June, was signed by Sandro Kepashvili, Inspector for Especially Important Cases of the Division for Monitoring Public Communication. According to the report, the content of the post contains elements of an alleged administrative offence under Article 166(1) of the Code of Administrative Offences. The provision provides for a fine ranging from GEL 500 to GEL 3,000 or administrative detention for up to 20 days.

On 29 June, it was reported that civil activist Tamuna Giorgadze had been fined GEL 3,000 by the court over a Facebook post concerning Bidzina Ivanishvili. The decision was delivered by Judge Tornike Kochkiani. Giorgadze herself did not attend the court hearing.

The new division became operational within the Ministry of Internal Affairs on 1 June. According to the Ministry, its main mandate is to identify statements disseminated in the public space that are degrading to human dignity or insulting and may contain elements of an administrative offence.

According to publicly available information, this is the third case pursued by the new division. On 11 June, it became known that administrative proceedings had been initiated against musician Maia Darsmelidze over a post concerning Nino Jgharkava, a person affiliated with “Georgian Dream.” On 15 June, Tbilisi City Court fined lawyer Shota Tutberidze GEL 4,000 over the alleged insult of Nino Tsilosani, a “Georgian Dream” MP.

Tamuna Giorgadze had previously been subject to administrative liability. On 6 May, Tbilisi City Court imposed two days of administrative detention on her. In addition, on 6 June, during the “Saturday March,” Giorgadze was subjected to physical violence by an unidentified person. In an interview with Batumelebi, Giorgadze stated that, before the march began, the same person had passed by protest participants on a scooter and verbally insulted them. According to activists, no effective response has been taken in relation to this incident to date.

Court Imposes One Day of Administrative Detention on Civil Activist Nino Giorganashvili, Issues Verbal Warning to Lela Samkharadze

Tbilisi City Court imposed one day of administrative detention on Nino Giorganashvili, a participant in the ongoing protest, for standing on the sidewalk. The decision was delivered by Judge Tornike Kapanadze.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs alleged that, on 18 December, Giorganashvili had created an obstruction to pedestrian movement in front of Parliament.

On the same day, Judge Kapanadze also heard the case of Lela Samkharadze. The court found her liable for an administrative offence and issued her a verbal warning. The Ministry of Internal Affairs alleged that, on 7 February, during a protest rally, Samkharadze had blocked the roadway.

Lawyer Shota Tutberidze Fined GEL 4,000 over Alleged Insult of MP Nino Tsilosani

Judge Davit Makaradze of Tbilisi City Court fined lawyer Shota Tutberidze GEL 4,000 over the alleged insult of Nino Tsilosani, a Member of Parliament from “Georgian Dream.”

The case concerns a comment left by Shota Tutberidze on Nino Tsilosani’s post of 2 June 2026. The post concerned a visit to Canada. Tutberidze wrote: “Should they insult you there as well, Niniko, or will you just visit the zoo and leave quickly?”

The complaint was not filed by the “Georgian Dream” MP herself. The administrative proceedings were initiated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Division for Combating Hate Speech under Article 173¹⁶(1) of the Code of Administrative Offences, which concerns the verbal insult of a political official.

This is the second publicly reported case handled by the new division. On 11 June, it became known that administrative proceedings had been initiated against musician Maia Darsmelidze over a post concerning Nino Jgharkava, a person affiliated with “Georgian Dream.”

The new division within the Ministry of Internal Affairs became operational on 1 June. According to the Ministry, the division’s main task is to identify statements disseminated in the public space that degrade human dignity or are insulting, and that may contain elements of an administrative offence.

Civil Activist Marine Zhvania Found Liable for an Administrative Offence for Standing on the Sidewalk

Judge Manuchar Tsatsua of Tbilisi City Court found civil activist Marine Zhvania liable for an administrative offence for standing on the sidewalk and issued her a verbal warning.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs alleged that, on 17 December 2025, 69-year-old Marine Zhvania had created an obstruction to pedestrian movement near Parliament. The hearing of the case began in December and was postponed several times. The judge ultimately delivered the decision on 15 June.

Marine Zhvania stated that she had indeed been standing near Parliament and protesting, but had not created any obstruction for passers-by. She did not consider herself liable for an administrative offence.

Musician Maia Darsmelidze Accused of Insulting a Person Affiliated with “Georgian Dream”

Musician Maia Darsmelidze wrote on social media that a court hearing had been scheduled in connection with the alleged insult of Nino Jgharkava, a supporter of “Georgian Dream.” According to Darsmelidze, she was notified about the hearing by the Division for Monitoring Public Communication. “Hurray, I cut the ribbon. The scrolling department contacted me. Jgharka filed a complaint against me and they say they have two screenshots,” the musician wrote.

Nino Jgharkava herself stated that she had not formally filed a complaint against Maia Darsmelidze. “I have just received a call from TV Pirveli asking whether I had sued Maia Darsmelidze over a post. The new division has started working and Ms. Darsmelidze has been summoned to court. I did not go anywhere officially and did not write a complaint. I tagged the Ministry of Internal Affairs here, and the response apparently followed promptly,” Jgharkava wrote.

The court hearing in this case is scheduled for 10 July. According to publicly available information, this is the first case pursued by the new division in relation to a comment made in the public space. The new division within the Ministry of Internal Affairs became operational on 1 June. According to the Ministry, the division’s main task is to identify statements disseminated in the public space that are degrading to human dignity or insulting and that may contain elements of an administrative offence.

Aleksi Petriashvili Subjected to Three Days of Administrative Detention for Standing on the Sidewalk

Judge Tornike Kapanadze of Tbilisi City Court imposed three days of administrative detention on Aleksi (Buka) Petriashvili, former State Minister for European Integration, for standing on the sidewalk. The Ministry of Internal Affairs alleged that, on 17 December, Petriashvili had created an obstruction to pedestrian movement on the sidewalk in front of Parliament.

Before the decision was announced, Petriashvili told the court that the video did not show any indication that anyone’s movement on the sidewalk had been obstructed. According to him, there was sufficient space around him and people were moving freely. Petriashvili also stated that, on 17 December, there had been no instruction from the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the location, and argued that the law in question contradicts the Constitution of Georgia and international standards.On the same day, Judge Kapanadze also heard the case of another protest participant, Sandro Sekhniashvili, and issued him a verbal warning. The Ministry of Internal Affairs alleged that Sekhniashvili had blocked the roadway in front of Parliament on 7 February.

Tbilisi City Court finds several activists liable for administrative offences for blocking the road

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.

Tbilisi City Court finds three activists liable for administrative offences over sidewalk protest

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.”

In cases concerning the alleged obstruction of a roadway and pavement during protests near Parliament, one individual was subjected to administrative detention, while two were issued verbal remarks

At the Tbilisi City Court, three hearings were held in cases related to the alleged obstruction of a roadway and pavement during protest actions near Parliament. In these cases, the court applied different sanctions – one individual was subjected to administrative detention, while two were issued verbal warnings.

Mariam Madzgharashvili was subjected to 2 days of administrative detention by Judge Nino Enukidze. Nika Beridze and Mikheil Nakheuri were issued verbal warnings by Judge Tornike Kapanadze.