The two-week arrest of Vakho Sanaia, a presenter for the opposition-leaning television channel “Formula TV”, has raised new concerns about media freedom in the Black Sea state.
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Independent Georgian journalists and opposition representatives claim to be experiencing increasing legal and physical pressure from the government.
The case against V. Sanaia was brought by a new unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, tasked with combating hate speech.
Georgia established this unit last month, stating that it would monitor offensive campaigns and aggressive public communication.
Critics called the institution a tool of censorship when officials expanded penalties for insulting political and state figures to include administrative detention.
A Tbilisi court sentenced V. Sanaia to two weeks of administrative detention for a Facebook post criticizing high-ranking figures of the ruling “Georgian Dream” party, Interpressnews agency reported.
Speaking to journalists just before his detention, V. Sanaia vowed to continue expressing his opinion.
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“There are no circumstances under which I would limit my freedom of speech,” he said.
V. Sanaia called the process absurd and stated that the officials’ message was: critics must remain silent.
Transparency International Georgia reported on Tuesday that 91 detainees in the country meet the Council of Europe’s criteria for being considered political prisoners.
The organization cited unfair trials, disproportionate sentences, and politically motivated criminal prosecution.
The government rejected these accusations.
In recent years, Georgia has been rocked by political turmoil over accusations of democratic decline and a drift towards Moscow’s orbit.
Several opposition figures have been detained in the country, and Tbilisi has faced Western criticism as a result.
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