Legal incident

Journalist and TV anchor Vakho Sanaia has been detained for one month

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.

The court upheld the decision revoking the Georgian residence permit of French photographer Francis Prymerski

The court upheld the Public Service Development Agency’s decision revoking the short-term temporary residence permit of Francis Prymerski, a French photographer and videographer living in Georgia.

Francis Prymerski appealed the agency’s decision in court in April and requested its annulment.

According to his lawyer, Prymerski had lived in Georgia for years and held a temporary residence permit. In March of this year, his permit was extended for the second time; however, just a few days after it was issued, he was unexpectedly informed that the agency had revoked his granted short-term temporary residence permit.

According to the lawyer, the agency’s decision does not specify any concrete factual circumstances, making it unknown what facts the ruling was based on. The act cites only a legal norm, according to which Francis Prymerski’s continued stay in Georgia is allegedly contrary to Georgia’s interests.

This is not the first instance in which obstacles have been created for the work of foreign journalists and activists in Georgia. Since the start of the pro-European protests, numerous similar cases have surfaced—including denials of entry into the country, border-crossing restrictions, refusals to issue residence permits, and the revocation of already issued permits. These cases raise questions regarding the legal grounds for such decisions and their potential impact on the work of journalists and activists. CMIS describes these cases in detail.

The Minister of Education is suing the publication “Guriis Moambe”

The Minister of Education, Science, and Youth of Georgia, Givi Mikanadze, is suing the publication “Guriis Moambe” and its owner, Vladimer Menabde. The minister accuses the publication of spreading disinformation about him, demanding a retraction of the disseminated statements and compensation for moral damages. The minister states that he has already filed a lawsuit with the Ozurgeti District Court.

According to the minister, on August 18 and in the following days, the news agency and its owner disseminated information containing fundamentally false facts via their website and social network concerning the construction of his residential house in the village of Archeuli, Guria.

The case concerns a report published by “Guriis Moambe” on August 18, which claimed that the Minister of Education, Science, and Youth, “Givi Mikanadze, started building his own house inside a kindergarten.”

“There are clear signs of defamation in this case. The disseminated information contained false facts that damage my dignity and professional reputation, and aims to harm my legitimate interests,” states Givi Mikanadze.

The Communications Commission fined the TV channel “Formula” for the third time on the grounds of violating the “Law on Broadcasting”.

On October 1, 2026, on the grounds of violating the “Law on Broadcasting,” the Communications Commission fined the TV channel “Formula” for the third time, this time with a 10,000 GEL penalty.

According to the Communications Commission’s statement, the issue concerns “violations” identified as a result of monitoring conducted from September 14 to 16. The agency considers the channel’s use of evaluative terms in live broadcasts and news reports to be a breach of content regulation. In its official statement, the Communications Commission did not specify which exact terms were in question this time. However, in the previous two instances, the channel was fined for using terms such as: “the ‘Dream’ government,” “the ‘Georgian Dream’ president,” “the ‘Dream’ Prosecutor’s Office,” “the ‘Dream’ Prime Minister,” “the ‘Dream’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” “repressive laws,” and “repressions of the ‘Dream’ regime.”

Over the past year, since the Communications Commission began monitoring the content of broadcasters, inquiries against “Formula” have been launched four times. In the first instance, the channel was issued a written warning; in the second instance, it was fined 2,500 GEL; and the third proceeding concluded with a 5,000 GEL fine. Since this was the fourth case overall, according to the Law of Georgia “On Broadcasting,” the channel had to be subjected to a fine not exceeding 3% of its annual revenue, but no less than 10,000 GEL. Consequently, the third fine was set at 10,000 GEL.

Journalist Vakho Sanaia faces re-arrest over statuses posted on social media

Formula TV presenter Vakho Sanaia is facing administrative detention for the second time over posts he published on social media. The case concerns two sarcastic posts and one video published on Facebook, all of which refer to Speaker of Parliament Shalva Papuashvili. One post was written a few minutes before his arrest (on July 22), and the other after his release from detention (on August 5).

The administrative proceedings against the journalist were initiated by the Interior Ministry’s “Hate Speech Monitoring Division.” This division is one of the government’s tools against freedom of expression, and the authorities use it proactively to punish people critical of them. The new division has been operating within the Interior Ministry since June 1. According to the official statement, its task is to monitor and proactively identify statements disseminated in the public space that degrade human dignity, are insulting, or contain hate speech, where these show signs of an administrative offense.

Vakho Sanaia has already served administrative detention once over posts about Shalva Papuashvili: on July 22, Judge Zviad Tsekvava sentenced him to 14 days. The division has fined or secured administrative detention for a number of civic activists over critical posts.

Bera Ivanishvili plans to file lawsuits against several media outlets and journalists

On September 30, Bera Ivanishvili published a statement on his Facebook page saying he plans to file a lawsuit against media outlets on grounds of defamation.

“The constant baseless attacks on social media and in the media space, which are part of a well-planned, coordinated campaign, can no longer go unanswered on my part… I will seek a legal response to every dirty, defamatory accusation made against me,” Bera Ivanishvili writes.

Bera Ivanishvili says he will sue the media outlets that accuse him of protecting call centers.

The son of Bidzina Ivanishvili, honorary chairman and founder of Georgian Dream, has already hired a lawyer. His lawyer, Davit Asatiani, said in a comment to Imedi TV: “…the targets of our lawsuit will be several media outlets and specific individuals who are spreading this defamation and asserting as fact claims that in reality have no basis whatsoever.”

Following a repeated attack on journalist Koba Partenadze, he was placed under administrative arrest

On August 16, in Batumi’s Europe Square, Adjara Public Broadcaster journalist and meteorologist Koba Partenadze was attacked again. According to Partenadze, police officers and an emergency medical service team were present at the scene.

This is not the first instance of an attack and threats against Koba Partenadze. Previously, Partenadze shared a video on social media where an unknown man can be heard threatening to take him aside and stab him. Two individuals were arrested in connection with this case. Later, the Batumi City Court imposed a bail of 7,000 GEL each as a preventive measure on the two individuals accused in the case involving violence and the threat of stabbing carried out against Partenadze.

On August 17, reports emerged that Koba Partenadze himself had been arrested. According to his lawyer, Partenadze was placed under administrative arrest at the 2nd division of the Batumi City Police Department and is currently being held in the Zestaponi temporary detention center. The lawyer stated that they are clarifying the grounds and motive for the arrest at this stage.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), Partenadze was arrested on the grounds of petty hooliganism and disobedience to a lawful police demand. The agency stated that on August 16, while being interviewed as a witness in a criminal case related to him, Partenadze verbally abused law enforcement officers, which led to the initiation of administrative proceedings. The MIA also stated that during the night hours of August 17, Partenadze was disturbing public order in Batumi with loud cursing and swearing, refused to obey the demands of police officers, and insulted them.

On August 18, Judge Aleksandre Goguadze found Koba Partenadze guilty of an administrative offense and fined him 2,000 GEL.

ComCom Fines TV Pirveli for Second Content Violation

The Communications Commission (ComCom) has fined TV Pirveli for the second time for violating provisions of the Law on Broadcasting related to content regulation. The broadcaster was fined GEL 5,000.

The case was considered under amendments to the Law on Broadcasting adopted by Georgian Dream, which significantly tightened content-regulation requirements for broadcasters. Among other provisions, the amendments introduced restrictions on the expression of editorial positions in news and socio-political programs, new rules governing the right of reply, and standards related to covert recording.

The Commission’s monitoring covered news broadcasts aired on July 27–28. According to ComCom, the broadcasts contained instances in which news was presented through personal attitudes or opinions and factual information was not reported with sufficient accuracy. The Commission identified expressions such as “organized a big hunt,” “scroll-screen agency,” “Chechen-type squad,” “hunting activists,” and “the police were fooled by their nerves” as problematic.

ComCom specifically found a violation in the report “People Have Begun to Be Detained,” aired during TV Pirveli’s 20:00 news broadcast on July 27. According to the Commission, the journalist’s interpretation of a conversation between police officers failed to meet the required standard of factual accuracy.

Currently, TV Pirveli and Formula have each received two fines under the content-regulation provisions. If ComCom finds another violation by TV Pirveli, it will have the authority to consider suspending the broadcaster’s authorization or imposing a higher fine of no less than GEL 10,000 and no more than 3% of the company’s annual revenue.

According to the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, ComCom continues to exert pressure on television broadcasters over the use of terminology deemed unacceptable by Georgian Dream. The Charter argues that, following the amendments to the Law on Broadcasting adopted in March 2025, the Commission has increasingly used proactive media monitoring as an instrument of pressure on editorial policy, undermining broadcasters’ ability to maintain independent editorial decision-making.

Vakho Sanaia was sentenced to prison over a status he posted on social media

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.

The Communications Commission is accusing ‘Formula’ of an alleged content regulation violation for the third time

For the third time, the Communications Commission is disputing an alleged violation of the “Law on Broadcasting” by the television company “Formula.” The Commission discussed the issue at its July 17 session and fined “Formula” 5,000 GEL.

According to the Commission’s assessment, “Formula” violated Article 54 of the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting – “Fairness and Impartiality.” According to the official report, the monitoring of the 17:00 broadcasts of Formula News was conducted between June 15 and 17. The Commission considers that journalists in these news broadcasts occasionally expressed personal opinions and attitudes regarding current events, as “Formula” systematically uses phrases in the disputed segments such as: “the ‘Dream’ government,” “the ‘Georgian Dream’ President,” “‘Dream’s’ Prosecutor’s Office,” “‘Dream’s’ Prime Minister,” “‘Dream’s’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” “repressive laws,” and “repressions of the ‘Dream’ regime.”

At this stage, the Commission only applied a fine and did not resort to an alternative sanction, which, according to the legislation, involves suspending the television station’s broadcasting authorization. If the Commission establishes another violation by “Formula,” it will again be authorized to consider suspending the station’s broadcasting authorization or imposing an increased fine—not less than 10,000 GEL and not exceeding 3% of the company’s annual income. For the use of similar terms, the Communications Commission had already fined “Formula” 2,500 GEL on May 21 for violating the same article.

The case is being considered against the backdrop of recent, controversial amendments to the “Law on Broadcasting” concerning the content regulation of broadcasters. Under these amendments, expressing personal positions is restricted in news programs and during the coverage of public policy issues (with the exception of author-driven editorial programs). Additionally, new rules were established regarding the right of reply and the gathering and dissemination of information through covert methods.

On March 6, the Communications Commission announced that it would begin enforcing the norms established by the “Law on Broadcasting” and the “Broadcasters’ Code of Conduct” in practice and would start monitoring broadcasters. At the time, the Commission pointed out that for almost a year, it had only reacted to complaints and had not initiated administrative proceedings against broadcasters on its own initiative.