TBILISI, July 22 – Georgian journalist Vakho Sanaia was sentenced to 14 days of administrative detention on Wednesday for a social media post about Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and MP Vladimer Bozhadze, triggering sharp criticism from opposition parties, media groups and foreign commentators.
Tbilisi City Court imposed the sentence on July 22. The decision was made after Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs’s hate speech division requested legal action over the post, Interpressnews reported.
Sanaia is a journalist and presenter at Formula TV, one of Georgia’s opposition-leaning television channels. According to Interpressnews, he was arrested near his home.
The case has quickly become a new flashpoint in Georgia’s fight over free speech, media pressure and the government’s use of recently adopted administrative rules.
Several rights groups said Sanaia had earlier been fined 6,000 GEL over the same issue. A joint statement by civil society organizations said this was the first known case in which a Georgian citizen was given administrative detention over a social media post. The groups called the arrest another step against freedom of expression and said the government was using repressive tools against critical media.
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association said the court decision was another clear example of illegitimate restrictions on public expression and would encourage censorship and self-censorship. Its chair, Tamar Oniani, called the 14-day detention for a Facebook post a dystopian act with no connection to justice.
Opposition parties also condemned the ruling. The United National Movement said Sanaia’s imprisonment showed that Bidzina Ivanishvili’s rule was moving from authoritarianism toward full dictatorship. Lelo-Strong Georgia said the case showed the government could not tolerate critical media and dissent. The Coalition for Change said the ruling was a new signal that the government wanted to establish a Russian-style dictatorship.
Among multiple international reactions to the ruling, former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly wrote on X that jailing journalists for exercising free speech is the mark of a fearful government. Former MEP Viola von Cramon said media freedom no longer existed in Georgia, while MEP Rasa Jukneviciene said Sanaia’s detention showed Georgia was sliding into Kremlin-style repression.
The ruling party defended the legal approach, with Georgian Dream MP Levan Machavariani saying it was logical for the law to act when people insult others and damage their dignity through social media. He argued that fines and further sanctions are tools to prevent hate, radicalism and what he called political terrorism. He said people who repeat the offense and refuse to pay fines leave judges with no other option.
The article used against Sanaia was added to Georgia’s Administrative Offenses Code in February 2025 by the Georgian Dream-controlled parliament. Civil society groups said OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission had assessed the change negatively. They also said the special Interior Ministry unit created to enforce the article is widely mocked in Georgia as a “scrolling and screenshot department.”
