On October 19, police detained journalist Vakho Sanaia, anchor of the main news broadcast for the Formula TV channel, near his home. By a decision of a Tbilisi City Court judge, the journalist was sentenced to 30 days of administrative detention.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs accused Vakho Sanaia of “insulting political officials” (directed at Shalva Papuashvili and Lado Bozhadze) over three posts published on social media.
Speaking to the media prior to his detention, Sanaia stated that the government’s goal is not to ban specific words, but to suppress critical opinion in the country and intimidate citizens:
“No matter how many detentions or fines there may be, I will continue to express my thoughts, whether verbally or in writing. It does not matter at all what they write or what they call the ruling… The main point here is that critical opinion must not be expressed, and that people should be frightened into not writing or speaking. Accordingly, my response to this will always be that I will write, of course, as many times as I want.”
This is already the third administrative case initiated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs against Vakho Sanaia in 2026 over critical posts published on social media. The authorities are actively using administrative mechanisms to punish independent journalists:
- Over statuses published on social media earlier this year, Sanaia had already been sentenced to 14 days of administrative detention and fined 6,000 GEL.
- In July 2025, the journalist was fined 4,000 GEL for “insulting” Georgian Dream MPs Tea Tsulukiani, Shalva Papuashvili, and Irakli Zarkua. On October 19 of the same year, he was detained on charges of blocking a road during a protest rally on Rustaveli Avenue and sentenced to 6 days of detention.
Representatives of local and international organizations responded critically to Vakho Sanaia’s imprisonment.
On July 22, Zviad Tsekvava of the Tbilisi City Court sentenced journalist Vakho Sanaia to 14 days in prison over a status posted on a social network. Previously, Vakho Sanaia had already been fined for a post written on Facebook.
The case concerned posts published on social media by Vakho Sanaia regarding the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, and MP Lado Bojadze.
This is the first instance of a journalist being sentenced to imprisonment for a status written on a social network.
Administrative disputes against citizens over opinions expressed in public spaces are initiated based on reports from the newly created “Division for Combatting Hate Speech” within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). The new division has been operating within the MIA since June 1. The division’s task is to monitor and proactively detect statements disseminated in the public sphere that degrade human dignity, are insulting, or contain hate speech, if they exhibit signs of an administrative offense.
On the night of April 4, 2026, Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Sadygov was detained in Georgia. Information regarding his arrest was initially released by his wife, who published surveillance footage showing law enforcement officers attempting to cut through the door of Sadygov’s home.
Following the news of the arrest, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia issued a statement noting that the journalist was detained for an offense under Article 173 of the Administrative Offenses Code—insulting a police officer on social media.
Afghan Sadygov’s trial took place late that same night. Tbilisi City Court Judge Tornike Kochkiani found Sadygov guilty and fined him 2,000 GEL. Additionally, he was ordered to be expelled from Georgia and banned from re-entering the country for a period of three years. The decision was announced at dawn, around 4:00 AM.
Afghan Sadygov was a critic of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s regime, for which he faced persecution in Azerbaijan. He arrived in Georgia with his wife and two minor children on December 24, 2023. Azerbaijan had been demanding Sadygov’s handover for nearly two years. His lawyers considered such a move dangerous and appealed the Georgian courts’ decisions regarding his extradition to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). There was an interim measure in place from the ECHR issued in 2025, which prohibited Georgia from extraditing Sadygov to Azerbaijan due to the threat of torture and political persecution. According to the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, Sadygov’s expulsion is a grave violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and Georgian legislation, used as a tool for political retribution.
The Charter of Journalistic Ethics of Georgia expresses solidarity with Afghan Sadygov and condemns his expulsion from the country. The Charter calls on international organizations working on journalists’ rights to pay close attention to Sadygov’s case, ensure his safety, and do everything in their power to protect the journalist in Azerbaijan, where he is currently located. In the assessment of the Media Advocacy Coalition, the expulsion of Afghan Sadygov is “a gross violation of international law and part of a policy directed against freedom of speech and independent journalists, which ‘Georgian Dream’ has been implementing for several years.”
On November 22, during a protest in Tbilisi, near Ingorokva Street, “TV Pirveli” journalist Giorgi Mamniashvili was detained. According to the television company, the journalist was performing his professional duties at the time of his arrest and was covering the protest. For several hours, the “TV Pirveli” newsroom was unable to get in touch with him.
At the moment of his detention, Mamniashvili was filming the police arresting other protesters on his mobile phone and sending the footage to the newsroom, when officers attempted to seize his phone. Shortly after, they ordered his arrest. In the video recorded by Mamniashvili, he can be heard telling the police that he is a journalist and is carrying out his professional duties.
According to the journalist’s lawyer, after the arrest, Mamniashvili was treated in a degrading and humiliating manner at the Dighomi pre-trial detention facility. Specifically, for several hours, his hands were cuffed behind his back, he was fully stripped, and forced to perform so-called “squats.”
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Aleksandre Darakhvelidze described the practice of strip-searching detainees upon admission to the detention facility as “a required procedure to document any possible injuries.” Public Defender Levan Ioseliani, however, calls the strip-searching of detainees “degrading and humiliating treatment.”
“The case of Giorgi Mamniashvili is a clear example of the repressive policies of Georgian Dream, aimed at restricting independent media and silencing critical voices,” the Media Advocacy Coalition stated.
On November 12, 2025, Afghan Sadygov, an Azerbaijani journalist residing in Georgia, was sentenced to administrative imprisonment for the second time under the pretext of blocking a road—he will spend 7 days in prison. He is accused of blocking the road on October 19-21, 2025. Afghan Sadygov had already been imprisoned once on the same charge, having been sentenced to 14 days of administrative imprisonment. At that time, the exiled journalist was accused of blocking the road on October 18.
According to the “Social Justice Center,” the organization defending Sadygov’s interests, at the time of Afghan Sadygov’s first detention, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) already knew that the journalist would stand on the roadway during the protest on subsequent days, but did not merge the cases: “This circumstance once again indicates that the MIA intentionally did not appeal to the court regarding the remaining days, so that the court would have the opportunity to apply administrative imprisonment against Afghan Sadygov twice. It is obvious that the MIA is trying to make an example of an activist actively involved in the protests by punishing him through the court.”
Since October 19, 2025, after the “Georgian Dream” parliament adopted another set of repressive changes under an accelerated procedure, 13 media representatives have been detained for participating in, and in some cases covering, the ongoing protest on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi. Administrative imprisonment was applied to most of them.
On November 5, 2025, during a protest rally in Tbilisi, the police arrested “Formula” TV company journalist Liza Tsitsishvili. At the time of the arrest, the journalist was performing her professional duties—interviewing rally participants. Video footage recorded by journalists present at the scene shows the police forcibly putting Liza Tsitsishvili into a car. The voices of other journalists can be heard in the video—they tell the police that Liza Tsitsishvili is their colleague; the police reply, “We’ll figure it out.” Liza Tsitsishvili was released ten minutes after her arrest. She says they apologized to her.
This is the second instance in a short period where a journalist is first detained and then released with an apology. On October 24, “Publika” online publication journalist Basti Mgaloblishvili was arrested near her home and released only a few hours later. She was told they had mistaken her for someone else. This is also the second instance where a journalist was detained while performing her professional duties at a rally. Two days before this incident, on November 3, “Media Checker” journalist Ninia Kakabadze was arrested on her way home, despite having a press badge, covering the rally, and having photo and video evidence confirming this.
Since October 19, 2025, after the “Georgian Dream” parliament adopted another set of repressive changes through an accelerated procedure, a total of 12 media representatives have been arrested for participating in, and in some cases covering, the ongoing protest on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi. Administrative imprisonment was applied to most of them.
The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics calls the frequent detentions of journalists “show detentions aimed at intimidating journalists” and urges the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) to stop the persecution and harassment of journalists, and to properly inform its employees of journalists’ rights and instruct them to protect and respect those rights before sending them on assignment.
On November 3, 2025, the police arrested Ninia Kakabadze, a journalist for the Media Platform “Media Checker” of the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics. That day, the journalist was at the rally with a press identification badge; she was performing her professional duties. Ninia Kakabadze was arrested while returning home. She was taken to the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Tbilisi. The journalist recounts that for a long time, she was not allowed to call her minor child. The journalist was released a few hours after the arrest. Ninia Kakabadze is accused of artificially blocking the road. The Tbilisi City Court started deliberation on her case on November 4, but postponed the hearing until November 12.
Since October 19, 2025, after the “Georgian Dream” parliament adopted another set of repressive changes through an accelerated procedure, 11 media representatives have been arrested for participating in, and in some cases covering, the ongoing protest on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi. Administrative imprisonment was applied to most of them.
The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics considers the arrest of Ninia Kakabadze and other journalists while performing their professional duties as an attempt to pressure independent media and suppress critical voices. The Charter demands the immediate cessation of administrative proceedings against its media platform “Media Checker’s” journalist, Ninia Kakabadze, and the annulment of the drawn-up administrative offense protocol.
On October 24, 2025, the founder and director of TV Formula, Giorgi Liponava, was arrested for participating in a protest. He was sentenced to three days of administrative detention.
Giorgi Liponava, along with other detained citizens, including media representatives, is accused of blocking the road.
The Georgian Dream party has fast-tracked legislative amendments that significantly restrict freedom of assembly and expression. According to the amendments, administrative detention of up to 15 days, without the option of a fine, is imposed for wearing a mask at a rally, possessing tear gas, or blocking the road. In addition, judges will no longer have the right to impose fines as an administrative penalty in cases of administrative offenses.
The detention of journalists by the Georgian Dream party is a direct attack on freedom of the media and expression. “Under such conditions, the activities of independent media face serious threats, which significantly limits the right to information in a democratic society,” the Media Advocacy Coalition said in a statement.
On October 24, 2025, Zviad Kvaratskhelia, a writer, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Intellect, was arrested for participating in a protest. The court sentenced him to three days of administrative detention.
Zviad Kvaratskhelia, along with other detained citizens, including media representatives, is accused of blocking a road.
The Georgian Dream party has expedited legislative amendments that significantly restrict freedom of assembly and expression. According to the amendments, administrative detention of up to 15 days, without the option of a fine, is imposed for wearing a mask at a rally, possessing tear gas, or blocking a road. In addition, judges will no longer have the right to impose fines as an administrative penalty in cases of administrative offenses.
“The arrest of journalists by Georgian Dream is a direct attack on freedom of the media and expression. Under such conditions, the activities of independent media face serious threats, which significantly restricts the right of a democratic society to be informed,” the Media Advocacy Coalition said in a statement.
On October 25, 2025, TV company “Formula’s” cameraman Nika Pataraia was detained. The court sentenced Pataraia to 4 days of administrative detention for blocking the road.
A total of 7 journalists/cameramen have been detained for blocking the road, including 4 representatives of TV company “Formula.”
The new legislative changes adopted by “Georgian Dream” significantly restrict freedom of assembly and expression. Citizens and activists are also being arrested for participating in the pro-European protest.
