Adjara TV journalist and presenter Koba Partenadze, who repeatedly reported being attacked in the streets in Batumi, was detained on August 17 on administrative charges of petty hooliganism and insulting police officers.
According to the Interior Ministry, Partenadze “verbally insulted” law enforcers during questioning as a witness on August 16 in one of the criminal cases involving him. The Ministry said the journalist also “disrupted public order” during the night hours of August 17 in Batumi by “loud swearing and insults,” disobeying the law enforcers who repeatedly called on him to “stop the illegal behavior” and again insulting police officers.
Partenadze faces charges under Articles 166 (petty hooliganism) and 173 (police disobedience and insult) of Georgia’s Administrative Offence Code.
The detention follows two separate reports of attacks by Partenadze in a single week. On August 10, the journalist posted a video on Facebook in which a male voice can be heard insulting him, including using homophobic slurs and pointing to his bleached hair, and threatening to stab him.
Police arrested two people on August 11 over alleged “violence and threats” against Partenadze in Batumi. A day later, the Batumi City Court granted bail of GEL 7,000 [USD 2,700] to both defendants, according to the Batumelebi outlet. It remains unclear whether the defendants paid the bail and were subsequently released.
Partenadze reported another attack in the early hours of August 16, according to local media reports. Formula TV channel then cited the journalist as saying that the assailants took his phone and smashed it.
Partenadze said he repeatedly faces attacks in the street. In 2023, he also reported being assaulted at Radio Adjara. At the time, the Adjara TV and Radio Public Broadcaster said an unidentified person had attacked the journalist on the broadcaster’s premises. Partenadze said he had been physically and verbally assaulted and believed he was targeted because of his appearance.
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