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.
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.
On 12 March, following the protest, a verbal confrontation occurred between a private individual and protest participants in the underground passage near the First Public School in Tbilisi. According to information disseminated on social media, an unidentified individual, reportedly in an intoxicated state, according to eyewitness accounts – directed aggressive verbal remarks toward a female protest participant holding the Georgian flag.
As reported by Levan Jobava on social media, after attracting the attention of those present, the individual moved toward a police cordon. According to the same source, law enforcement officers did not apprehend the individual at the scene, and he subsequently left the area in the company of police officers without further incident.
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.
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.
On 23 January 2026, judges of the Tbilisi City Court found seven citizens liable for administrative offences in connection with standing on a sidewalk. Of these, five individuals (men) were sentenced to administrative detention, while two individuals (women) were issued verbal warnings, as follows:
- Sandro Megrelishvili – four days of administrative detention (Judge Davit Makaradze);
- Dimitri Jamburia – four days of administrative detention (Judge Davit Makaradze);
- Luka Nagliashvili – five days of administrative detention (Judge Davit Makaradze);
- Mikheil Zakareishvili – five days of administrative detention (Judge Zviad Tsekvava);
- Nukri Kakulia – four days of administrative detention (Judge Manuchar Tsatsua);
- Ani Akhmeteli – verbal warning (Judge Zviad Tsekvava);
- Natia Chavchanidze – verbal warning (Judge Manuchar Tsatsua).
The Ministry of Internal Affairs alleged that, by standing on the sidewalk, the individuals obstructed the movement of other citizens. This marked the first instance in which courts imposed administrative detention in proceedings related to the so-called “sidewalk cases.”
Another repressive legislative amendment restricting the exercise of the right to freedom of assembly was adopted by the “Georgian Dream” party 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 effectively prohibited. Under the amended legal framework, a first violation is punishable by administrative detention for a term of up to 15 days (up to 20 days in the case of an organizer), while a repeated violation may give rise to criminal liability.
The first activist to be subjected to court proceedings following the adoption of the stricter legislation was Ani Akhmeteli, who was served with notice on 23 December. The first judicial decision in sidewalk-related cases was delivered on 22 January, when Judge Tornike Kapanadze found civil activist Rezi Dumbadze liable for an administrative offence and issued a verbal warning. In 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 legal scrutiny when assessed against the standards of freedom of assembly guaranteed by the Constitution of Georgia and by international human rights instruments.”
