The Tbilisi City Court has sentenced journalist Vakho Sanaia to 14 days of administrative detention over a social media post concerning Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, and MP Vladimir Bozhadze.
The decision was handed down by Judge Zviad Tsekvava.
The Anti-Hate Speech Department, established under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, petitioned the Tbilisi City Court for a legal assessment of the publication.
The TV anchor did not attend the court hearing:
“I don’t care what so-called court hearings are held; I am completely unconcerned with what they write and read. What matters to me is that I will write and read whatever I deem necessary—whether on air or on social media. No one can forbid us from speaking out…
I don’t care whether the so-called judge issues a fine, hands down a prison sentence, or anything else,” Vakho Sanaia stated earlier.
As a reminder, on July 10, Judge Tornike Kochkiani fined Vakho Sanaia 6,000 GEL (Georgian lari) for posts about Shalva Papuashvili and Lado Bozhadze. Prior to that, Sanaia had been fined 4,000 GEL for insulting a political figure. The journalist did not pay the fines.