The Tbilisi City Court has fined activist and blogger Tornike Razmadze 3,000 GEL (approximately $1,150) for petty hooliganism over the use of profanity in a public space. Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) had sought the maximum allowable fine as punishment.
The case stems from a social media comment that Razmadze claims was directed at Kremlin propagandist Margarita Simonyan. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs concluded that the diatribe was aimed at Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and the government.
MIA representative Mariam Kereselidze repeatedly stressed that officials within the ministry, “being Georgians,” understand the public’s attitude toward the occupiers and would not have paid attention to an insult directed at Simonyan.
“I was fined 3,000 lari for insulting Margarita Simonyan. But at least now all barriers are gone: f*** the occupiers ‘on their knees,’ as well as those who insult our history and culture!” wrote Tornike Razmadze.
Earlier, during the court proceedings, he explained:
“If I had wanted to insult Kobakhidze—whom I hold in no higher regard than Simonyan—I would have said: screw your Treaty of Georgievsk this way and that. I quoted Simonyan’s words, and my statement was directed specifically at her. Even if you [addressing the judge] believe me completely, the law ties your hands as well, since it says nothing about insulting a citizen of a foreign state. The problem is broader than my case—it lies in the law itself. They decided that I insulted Kobakhidze; here I am, standing before them and saying that is not true, and yet they…,” Tornike Razmadze stated in court.
The blogger stresses that while he is critical of Irakli Kobakhidze and the ruling Georgian Dream party, in the specific comment cited by the MIA, he was referring exclusively to Russian propagandists.
Before the court delivered its decision, the MIA representative submitted additional evidence “to establish character”—another social media post made by Tornike Razmadze following the previous hearing. According to Mariam Kereselidze, Razmadze deliberately continues to commit the offense in the exact same manner as originally charged.
“Posting such comments in public spaces has become a habit for Mr. Tornike Razmadze,” Kereselidze stated.
The case materials also included statements submitted by Tornike Razmadze made by Parliamentary Chairman Shalva Papuashvili and MP Archil Gorduladze, in which they directed insults at the blogger. In Razmadze’s view, this underscores the politically motivated nature of the case.
In addition, reports from Russian media stating that a Georgian blogger was on trial for insulting Margarita Simonyan were also entered into the case record.
As a reminder, Tornike Razmadze was charged with using profanity in a public space without specifying targets—specifically the comment, “F*** their mother on their knees (standing on their knees).”
The blogger left this comment under his own post—a video published on social media on August 18. In the video, drawing on statements by Margarita Simonyan and Irakli Kobakhidze, Razmadze discussed how closely the rhetoric of the Russian occupiers and the leaders of Georgian Dream aligned and continued to converge. He suggested that the authorities were planning some form of “deep cooperation” with Russia and were currently preparing public opinion for it.
“The Russians are openly stating: just as one King ‘Irakli’ begged back then for us to take him under our protection [referring to Margarita Simonyan’s claim that King Erekle II allegedly begged for Russian protection on his knees], so too will other Iraklis crawl back on their knees,” Razmadze says in the video. In the expletive-laden comment that lacked an explicit target and became the basis for the proceedings, the blogger used Simonyan’s exact phrase (“on their knees”). As the activist himself explained, by repurposing her words, he used profanity aimed directly at Simonyan and Vladimir Solovyov, arguing that this context was unmistakable.
The hearing of Tornike Razmadze’s case began on September 29. The blogger attended the first session alone, without an attorney, and promptly walked out of the courtroom when the judge clarified that the proceedings were not being conducted under the article on insulting a public official (Irakli Kobakhidze, as claimed by ruling party spokespersons), but under the article on petty hooliganism (insulting Simonyan and Solovyov, as argued by the activist himself).
The MIA had previously claimed it was charging Tornike Razmadze with insulting Irakli Kobakhidze rather than Russian propagandists, but subsequently reclassified the charge under Article 161 [of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia], which provides for a fine between 500 and 3,000 GEL or administrative detention for up to 20 days.