On 26 July, ten people were detained in Tbilisi after displaying handwritten protest posters in support of freedom of speech and in protest against censorship detentions.
The arrests came less than a week after Georgian journalist Vakho Sanaia was ordered to 14 days of administrative detention over Facebook posts that the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) said insulted members of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Activist Tornike Toshkhua staged a one-person protest outside the Tbilisi City Council building, holding a handwritten sign reading “Is Bidzina a d**k? Yes. No.”
The handwritten sign took the form of a simple yes-or-no poll, using only the Georgian male first name “Bidzina”, the same first name as Georgian Dream founder, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, without explicitly referring to any specific person.
Within minutes, several police officers approached Toshkhua, placed him in a police vehicle and took him away. The detention was livestreamed on Facebook by activist Luka Khizadze.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs told Netgazeti that Toshkhua had been detained under Article 166 of Georgia’s Code of Administrative Offences, which covers petty hooliganism.
Following Toshkhua’s arrest, supporters gathered outside the City Council building carrying posters bearing the same text. Police subsequently detained nine more demonstrators: Ia Melitauri, Lasha Dgebuadze, Mariam Mekantsishvili, Vaso Beridze, Sandro Sekhniashvili, Marine Nanava, Shako Baghdoshvili, Tornike Tikaridze and Nato Bolkvadze.
Videos shared on social media also appear to show senior police official Davit Mamageishvili striking Ilia State University student Sandro Sekhniashvili in face during his arrest.
Social media users reacted to the arrests by drawing parallels with Russia. Many recalled incidents in which Russian police detained people over a piece of paper bearing the word “Khuilo” without explicitly naming anyone.
Several users also pointed to the irony of Toshkhua’s detention, noting that his sign was phrased as a question rather than a statement and did not explicitly identify any individual.
“Even setting aside the fact that it was a question rather than a statement, there are plenty of people named Bidzina. It’s just like the old joke from Russia, where a detainee argued that ‘Khuilo’ was a general term and not directed at Putin, only to be told: ‘We all know who Khuilo is.'”
In a statement, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said:
“Officers of the Patrol Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs detained ten individuals in the vicinity of the Tbilisi City Council building who were displaying offensive banners in a public space. In addition, they were using insulting language, disrupting public order and resisting law enforcement officers. The individuals were detained under Articles 166 and 173 of the Code of Administrative Offences.”
Article 166 of the Code of Administrative Offences relates to petty hooliganism, while Article 173 concerns failure to comply with a lawful order issued by a law enforcement officer. The offences are punishable by a fine or by administrative detention for up to 60 days.
Tornike Toshkhua was previously arrested together with Mindia Shervashidze on 16 August 2025. The two were accused of acting in a group violence against Beka Gotsiridze. Toshkhua spent approximately one year in prison before the Court of Appeal reduced his sentence, leading to his release on 1 July.
