Judge Zviad Tsekvava found four of the ten protesters detained during a demonstration outside Tbilisi City Council on 26 July guilty of administrative offences after merging their cases into a single hearing.
The court handed down the following penalties:
- Tornike Toshkhua – fined 3,000 GEL
- Mariam Mekantsishvili – fined 6,000 GEL
- Nato Bolkvadze – sentenced to 5 days in administrative detention
- Shako Baghdoshvili – sentenced to 10 days in administrative detention
The Interior Ministry said it had sought detention for Mekantsishvili as well, but prosecutors acknowledged this was not legally possible because she is the mother of a child under the age of 12.
All four are active participants in Georgia’s ongoing anti-government protests.
Arrests over protest signs
Police first detained activist Tornike Toshkhua after he displayed a sheet of paper posing a provocative question “Is Bidzina a d*ck? Yes. No.”
Later the same day, police arrested nine more people – Ia Melitauri, Lasha Dgebuadze, Mariam Mekantsishvili, Vaso Beridze, Sandro Sekhniashvili, Marine Nanava, Shako Baghdoshvili, Tornike Tikaridze and Nato Bolkvadze – during a solidarity protest after they displayed identical signs.
Arguments in court
During the hearing, an Interior Ministry representative argued that the administrative proceedings were intended, among other things, to protect the protesters from possible attacks by other members of the public. He referred to a recent incident in which a comedian was assaulted following an orchestrated online campaign accusing him of insulting a renowned Georgian writer. The reference suggested that the protesters could face similar attacks because they were displaying handwritten posters bearing the same first name as Georgian Dream founder, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Toshkhua rejected the accusation that he had insulted anyone.
“I exercised my right to freedom of expression. The Interior Ministry cannot even explain who exactly was insulted. If I ask the public whether the weather is bad and express ‘bad’ using a three-letter swear word, does that amount to disturbing public order?” he told the court.
He also said police failed to inform him of his rights when he was detained and only formalised the arrest after taking him to the Interior Ministry headquarters.
Shako Baghdoshvili described the protest signs as a symbolic public vote rather than an act of violence.
“It was a kind of referendum. Every citizen’s actions today are an answer to the questions our society is facing. I don’t like using offensive language either, but everything deserves a response,” he said.
Protesters removed from courtroom
Judge Tsekvava removed both Mekantsishvili and Bolkvadze from the courtroom during the proceedings.
Mekantsishvili was expelled after reminding the Interior Ministry’s representative of a years-old case in which he had publicly argued that charges of petty hooliganism against him over offensive language in a private Facebook group violated his freedom of expression.
Bolkvadze, meanwhile, was removed after challenging a police officer’s testimony, accusing the officer of lying about the circumstances of her arrest.
Bolkvadze also told the court she had been violently detained and suffered injuries while being forced into a police vehicle.
Police testimony
Police officers testified that the protesters shouted obscenities, displayed signs containing offensive language and obstructed police while officers were detaining others.
One officer claimed the demonstration was not peaceful solely because protesters displayed a sign containing obscene language, arguing that this alone justified Bolkvadze’s detention.
The court also reviewed video evidence from the protest. The recordings included chants expressing solidarity with detained protesters and other government critics, as well as slogans denouncing the authorities.
Charges
The Interior Ministry charged the protesters with petty hooliganism and disobeying or obstructing police officers, both administrative offences under Georgia’s Code of Administrative Offences.
Other rulings
The cases of the ten detained protesters were divided between two judges.
Separately, Judge Tornike Kapanadze:
- fined Vaso Beridze 5,000 GEL, despite the Interior Ministry requesting his detention;
- sentenced Ia Melitauri to 5 days in administrative detention;
- postponed proceedings against Tornike Tikaradze.
Judge Zviad Tsekvava is also due to hear the remaining cases involving Lasha Dgebuadze, Sandro Sekhniashvili and Marine Nanava.
On 27 July, another citizen was detained after staging the same form of protest in solidarity with the ten protesters detained on 26 July.
