Civil activist Ruska Mchedlidze has been fined 3,000 GEL (approximately $1,150) for insulting three bailiffs at Tbilisi City Court.
The case stems from an incident on July 28, 2026, when the court was hearing a case concerning banners insulting Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the Georgian Dream party. Court bailiffs forcibly removed citizens waiting for the hearing to begin from the building. Activist Ruska Mchedlidze and lawyer Marika Arevadze subsequently stated that they had been subjected to physical violence by the bailiffs.
On October 13, Mchedlidze wrote that the investigation into her complaint had been “shelved,” while administrative proceedings were launched against her under Part 1 of Article 173¹⁶ of the Code of Administrative Offenses. This article covers insulting a political official or a public servant.
Following the court session on October 26, Ruska Mchedlidze told TV Pirveli that the judge had denied a motion to question the bailiffs and refused to admit into evidence the video recording of the July 28 incident that the activist had filmed herself.
In connection with the July 28 events inside the courthouse, the prosecutor’s office had been conducting an investigation under sub-paragraph “b” of Part 3 of Article 333 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which addresses the abuse of official authority involving violence. However, to date, the investigation has yielded no results.