The Tbilisi City Court has dismissed the case against photojournalist Mariam Dzidzaria of the Netgazeti outlet, whom the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) accused of “artificially blocking the road.”
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Dzidzaria violated the law during the “Saturday March” on January 31 near the Georgian parliament building. The journalist herself insists that she was covering the protest and performing her professional duties. At the time, she was wearing identification—a press badge—and had “PRESS” written on her shoulder. Additionally, Mariam was holding a camera.
According to the latest amendments to Part 10 of Article 174 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, citizens are “prohibited from artificially blocking roads for transport or pedestrians, unless required by the number of participants in the assembly or demonstration.” This means it is forbidden to block both the roadway and sidewalks.
The violation carries a penalty of administrative detention for up to 15 days, and up to one year of imprisonment for a repeat offense.
This is not the first time the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has accused media representatives of blocking roads. On April 21, the Tbilisi City Court also dismissed the case against journalist Ninia Kakabadze. Earlier, the court dropped cases against a Radio Liberty cameraman and a correspondent for the Tabula outlet.
