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.
On April 28, 2025, Batumi City Court ruled to keep Mzia Amaghlobeli, founder of the online outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, in pretrial detention. The decision was announced by Judge Nino Sakhelashvili.
As a reminder, Mzia Amaghlobeli was initially detained under administrative charges on January 11 of this year and, just hours later on January 12, was charged under criminal law.
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on her behalf.
On April 17, 2025, Indigo journalist Saba Sordia was fined 2,500 GEL by Tbilisi City Court Judge Zviad Tsekvava. The journalist had been charged with disobedience to police.
Saba Sordia was detained on April 6 near Metro Station in Tbilisi. At the time of his arrest, he was not carrying out journalistic duties. According to his lawyer, Mariam Kavelashvili, the journalist was stopped for a “superficial inspection” and, after presenting his ID, was asked to fully open his bag. When Sordia responded that he would open the bag pockets himself, this was interpreted as noncompliance. By that point, the police already knew he was a journalist by profession.
Following his arrest, Saba Sordia spent 48 hours in a pretrial detention facility. He later stated that officers in the patrol car attempted to humiliate him over an earring he was wearing. His work-issued GoPro camera was also confiscated. The first court hearing in his case took place on April 8, and the verdict was announced on April 17.
The Media Advocacy Coalition has called this yet another instance of repressive policies targeting the media.
On April 12, 2025, Tabula news agency journalist Luka Katsitadze was fined 5,000 GEL for the alleged “illegal blocking of the road.”
The online outlet reports that Luka Katsitadze was performing his professional duties on Shota Rustaveli Avenue on April 12. The publication also notes that this is not the first instance in which journalists have been fined without legitimate grounds.
Center for Media, Information and Social Research has documented dozens of such cases.
On April 6, 2025, journalist Irina Makaridze, reporting for the newspaper “Qronika+” and the news agency “CNews“, was covering ongoing protest on Shota Rustaveli Avenue when she was fined 5,000 GEL by police for “illegally blocking the road.”
The journalist plans to appeal the fine.
Center for Media, Information and Social Research has documented dozens of similar cases.
On April 6, 2025, Indigo journalist Saba Sordia was detained near the Rustaveli Metro station. He is currently being held in the Digomi detention facility.
“Saba Sordia, a journalist from Indigo, has been unlawfully detained. He complied with police instructions — he opened his bag and provided his ID. When officers attempted to open the back pocket of his bag, Saba told them he would do it himself. This was interpreted as disobedience, and he was taken to the police station, then quickly transferred to the detention facility. He had a camera with him, which is now sealed. The police knew he was a journalist. Despite this, he remains in custody,” wrote Indigo’s executive director, Nata Dzevelishvili.
According to a statement released by Indigo, Saba Sordia’s detention has been extended, and it remains unclear when his court hearing will take place. The Media Advocacy Coalition responded to the detention, stating:
“Saba Sordia’s detention is yet another example of the systemic repressive policy against the media, the scale of which is growing by the day. Arresting journalists under the convenient pretext of ‘disobedience to police’ is an abuse of power by law enforcement agencies.”
On June 2, 2025, the Ministry of Internal Affairs rejected the appeal and fined Beqa Beridze, a graphic designer from 64, 5,000 GEL.
According to media reports, the Ministry accuses Beqa Beridze of blocking the road on February 11, 2025. Beridze appealed the fine imposed by the Ministry, but the appeal was not upheld. A representative of 64 stated that the decision will be challenged in court.
Since November 28, 2024, around 36 media representatives have been fined while performing their professional duties. Most of these cases are currently under review. So far, two journalists have been found in violation of the law by the court and have been issued administrative fines.
On May 30, 2025, Judge Lela Tsagareishvili of the Tbilisi City Court reviewed the case of journalist and TV host Natia Gogsadze and fined her 5,000 GEL, despite the journalist’s claim that she was fulfilling her professional duties and had submitted relevant evidence. Judge Tsagareishvili is on Estonia’s list of sanctioned individuals.
Natia Gogsadze received the notice of the fine back when she was still a host at the TV company “Mtavari Arkhi,” on February 13, 2025. According to the administrative offense report, the Ministry of Internal Affairs accused the journalist of blocking the road during a pro-European protest on February 2, 2025.
Just a few days earlier, on May 23, Judge Zviad Tsekvava also imposed a 5,000 GEL fine on Mariam Kavshbaia, a journalist from the online outlet “Publika.”
Since November 28, 2024, during the period of pro-European protests, publicly available information indicates that there have been more than 35 instances where administrative reports were filed against journalists present at or working during the demonstrations.
