Vakho Sanaia, the opposition-leaning Formula TV anchor and journalist, was sentenced to 30 days of administrative detention after the Interior Ministry filed another complaint against him over social media posts the Ministry deemed insulting to Georgian Dream figures.
Tbilisi City Court Judge Tornike Kochkiani delivered the ruling on October 19, granting a request from the Interior Ministry, which accused Sanaia of insulting disputed Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and Georgian Dream lawmaker Vladimer Bozhadze. Sanaia did not attend the hearing.
Sanaia was charged under Article 17316 of Georgia’s Code of Administrative Offenses, which prohibits verbal abuse, insults, harassment, and other offensive conduct directed at public officials in connection with their official duties. The offense carries a fine of 2,500 to 6,000 GEL (USD 920 to USD 2,300) or administrative detention of five to 60 days.
The ruling marks Sanaia’s second detention and third penalty for a similar offense. On July 22, he was sentenced to 14 days of administrative detention over a Facebook post concerning Papuashvili and Bozhadze. Earlier, on July 10, Sanaia was fined GEL 6,000 (USD 2,30) in a separate but similar case brought by the Interior Ministry’s Division for Combating Hate Speech over Facebook posts concerning Papuashvili and Bozhadze.
The October 19 ruling concerned several social media posts and a video. Shortly before his detention on July 22, Sanaia wrote on Facebook: “For 14 days, don’t call Shalva [Papuashvili] and Lado [Bozhadze] d***s. When I get out, I’ll take care of that matter myself,” adding laughing emojis.
On August 5, minutes after his release, Sanaia again addressed the two politicians on Facebook. “When I wrote that people shouldn’t call Papuashvili and Bozhadze d****s, I was arrested,” he wrote. “Now, a question that has been bothering me for two weeks: If Shalva Papuashvili and Bozhadze themselves wrote, ‘Don’t call us d****s,’ would they also end up facing jail time? Shalva, Lado, go ahead, boys! I dare you!”
The court also examined a video posted on September 24 in which Sanaia referred to Papuashvili using a vulgar Georgian wordplay. At the end of the video, Sanaia says, “So, Shalva,” before cutting to a scene from the Georgian television series My Wife’s Friends, in which a character delivers a profane insult.
The penalties are part of the Georgian Dream government’s crackdown on public statements and social media posts that authorities and courts deem offensive. The crackdown has intensified since the Interior Ministry established its Division for Combating Hate Speech in June to monitor “hate speech” in public spaces, including on social media, and file complaints with courts, often without a request from the individual deemed to have been “insulted.”
The unit has been involved in dozens of cases resulting in fines ranging from 1,500 to 6,000 GEL over social media posts and comments, as well as administrative detentions.
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