On February 12, 2025, Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs filed a case against Publika journalist and photojournalist Aleksandre Keshelashvili. The ministry accuses him of violating Articles 166 and 173 of the Administrative Offenses Code, which relate to petty hooliganism and disobedience to police. The court hearing is scheduled for February 25 at 4:00 PM.
The alleged offense took place on November 19, 2024—the same day Keshelashvili himself became the target of police violence. He was arrested and brutally beaten while covering a pro-European protest in Tbilisi.
“I kept repeating that I was a journalist, but it seemed to have the opposite effect—they were already cursing me, and then added more abuse because I was from the media. They made me walk through a sort of ‘corridor’ where they beat me, mostly in the face,” Keshelashvili said.
He required medical treatment and underwent nasal surgery. Although the Special Investigation Service opened an inquiry into the assault, not a single law enforcement officer has been held accountable to date.
On June 4, 2025, the Ministry of Internal Affairs fined Nino Baidauri, a journalist for the online outlet Netgazeti, 5,000 GEL. She is accused of blocking Rustaveli Avenue on March 21.
The journalist shared the news on Facebook, posting a screenshot of a text message sent by the Ministry:
“You have been fined under Article 174^1, Part 5. Date: 21/03/2025. Location: Tbilisi, Rustaveli Avenue, near the Parliament building.”
According to publicly available sources, the Center for Media, Information and Social Research (CMIS) has been documenting cases of journalists being fined for blocking roads while covering pro-European protests since November 28, 2024. Nino Baidauri is the 37th journalist fined by the Ministry for this reason.
On June 4, 2025, Nino Baiduri, a journalist for the online publication Netgazeti, was fined 5,000 GEL by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. She is accused of blocking Rustaveli Avenue on March 21.
The journalist wrote about the fine on the social media platform Facebook, attaching the short text message she received from the Ministry:
“You have been fined under Article 174, Paragraph 5. Date: 21/03/2025. Location: Tbilisi, Rustaveli Avenue, near the Parliament building.”
According to publicly available sources, the Media, Information, and Social Research Center (CMIS) has been documenting cases of journalists fined for blocking roads while covering pro-European protests, based on publicly accessible information, since November 28, 2024.
On March 4, 2025, Batumi City Court Judge Vasil Metreveli ruled to keep Netgazeti and Batumelebi co-founder and director Mzia Amaglobe in pre-trial detention. On that day, the court also began the substantive hearing of her case and reviewed the issue of revising the preventive measure.
Mzia Amaglobeli is being investigated under Article 353¹, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which pertains to attacks on police officers, special penitentiary staff, or other public officials or institutions. The charge carries a sentence of 4 to 7 years in prison.
Amaglobeli was arrested twice during the night of January 11–12. She was initially detained for posting a sticker on a police building that read: “Georgia Goes on Strike.” She was released a few hours later on a written pledge. However, shortly after her release, she was re-arrested for allegedly slapping the police chief, Irakli Dgebuadze.
According to Netgazeti, the incident was preceded by a clash and crowding between demonstrators and police, triggered by provocative actions from the police.The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), which is representing Amaglobeli, stated that “Mzia Amaglobeli is not only being held unlawfully, but the Georgian judiciary has demonstratively stripped her of the right to defend herself and prove her innocence.”
At a court hearing held on March 12, 2025, Radio Liberty producer Beka Beradze was issued a verbal warning by the court for disobeying police orders.
Beradze was detained on the night of December 1, 2024, during a pro-European protest in Tbilisi, on Ingorokva Street, along with several companions. He was taken to a temporary detention facility in Sagarejo and released 48 hours later without being charged. Visible injuries were observed on Beradze’s face, which, according to Radio Liberty reports, resulted from violence by riot police.
On March 12, 2025, police contacted Beradze to inform him that his court hearing was scheduled to take place within the hour. He was being charged with disobeying a police order. According to Beradze, he and his lawyer were given only one hour to review the case materials.
On March 17, 2025, Formula journalist Nano Chakvetadze was informed by police that she had been fined 5,000 GEL. She is accused of blocking the road on March 13. According to Formula, Chakvetadze was carrying out her professional duties on Rustaveli Avenue that day.
This is not the first time an independent media representative has been unlawfully fined while performing their journalistic work.
On March 17, 2025, Tbilisi City Court held a hearing in the case of Publika reporter Aleksandre Keshelashvili. He had been charged with disobeying police orders; the court issued him a verbal warning.
Keshelashvili was covering a pro-European protest on November 29 of the previous year when police used force to detain and physically assault him. That same night, he was hospitalized with multiple injuries and underwent emergency surgery; he had sustained fractures to his facial bones.
In December, the Publika reporter filed a complaint with the Special Investigation Service, requesting an investigation into the physical violence used against him while performing his professional duties. Despite being officially recognized as a victim in that case, the court still delivered a guilty verdict today and issued him a verbal warning for disobeying police orders.
On March 18, 2025, Batumi City Court Judge Salikh Shainidze found Mzia Amaglobeli, co-founder and director of Netgazeti and Batumelebi, guilty of a misdemeanor and fined her 2,000 GEL for placing a sticker on a police building.
Mzia Amaglobeli was arrested twice during the night of January 11–12, 2025. She was first detained for posting a sticker on the police building that read: “Georgia goes on strike.” She was released a few hours later on a written pledge. However, shortly after her release, she was arrested again — this time on criminal charges — for allegedly slapping police chief Irakli Dgebuadze.
She remains in pre-trial detention in connection with the criminal case. Her detention is being closely monitored not only by local NGOs but also by prominent international organizations.
On March 18, 2025, TV Pirveli photojournalist Giorgi Mosiashvili was issued a fine of 5,000 GEL by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Police accused Mosiashvili of illegally blocking the road on Rustaveli Avenue at 9:03 PM on March 11.
In a Facebook post, Mosiashvili stated that he was carrying out his professional duties on Rustaveli Avenue on March 11.
On March 19, 2025, two more journalists reported on social media that they had been fined on the grounds of “road obstruction.”
Among them was OC Media founder and photographer Mariam Nikuradze, who received two separate fine notices totaling 10,000 GEL. Law enforcement authorities accuse Nikuradze of illegally blocking the road on March 11 and March 15. The journalist plans to appeal both fines.That same day, Radio Tbilisi journalist Merab Merkviladze received notice of a 5,000 GEL fine. He shared the information on his Facebook page.
