On trial over opinion: Tbilisi' repression of journalists

Not only articles but also social media posts are increasingly targeted by the law punishing ‘insults to state officials’, approved by the Georgian Dream-dominated Parliament. According to many commentators, this could be the prelude to the total closure of Facebook in the country.

Tbilisi (AsiaNews) - Georgian journalists are increasingly being summoned to court, along with politicians and humanitarian activists, to answer for criticism published not only in articles but also in simple posts on social networks.

This is a consequence of the new law punishing ‘insults to state officials’, approved by the Georgian Dream parliament, whose representatives claim that it is only a matter of ‘respecting discipline’, while it is clear that it is a measure designed to repress any opinion that differs from that of the ruling regime.

The current Minister of Culture, Teja Tsulukiani, when she was Minister of Justice in 2019, ironically stated that “if they impose legal restrictions on swear words, we will all end up in prison”; now that moment seems to have arrived, at least for “undisciplined” opponents.

She herself has recently brought several lawsuits against the authors of publications she considers unacceptable, due to the tone and terms used, even if only for calling her “a Russian”. The new law also provides for 45 days' detention for a wrong word, even more severe than similar laws in Belarus (maximum 30 days) and Russia (15 days).

A few days ago, the Georgian Dream party, under the new rules, filed a class action lawsuit against the authors of internet publications, and the Tbilisi court summoned about 20 journalists and activists for their association with them on Facebook.

Among them are journalist Nanuka Žoržoliani, together with her daughter Mariam Geguadze, journalists Ekaterina Mišveladze, Vakho Sanaja, Vika Bukija and politicians Tamar Čergoleišvili, Levan Khabeišvili, Elena Khoštarija, along with activists Anna Subeliani, Baija Pataraja, David Katsarava and others.

At the end of May, three activists were convicted for shouting “Down with Russia's slaves!” at MP Mariam Laškhi, and the term “slave” was defined as a “very serious insult” to be reported on all social media posts and messages.

Other terms deemed punishable include “traitors to the motherland”, “Bolsheviks” and “Russians” directed at state officials and politicians from the government and majority parties. The speaker of parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, said that the use of the term “slave” by the “radical opposition” was not accidental, but a “projection of their own essence, as they are ideological slaves of the West”.

After the arrests, someone painted the word ‘slave’ on Mariam Laškhi's wall, and journalist Ekaterina Mišveladze reposted it, writing ‘they wrote that the slave is a slave, and I don't object’, which is why she herself was arrested.

Journalists are responding to this wave of repression by saying that “they obviously have very sensitive emotional sensors”, as Žoržoliani said, and are calling on everyone to go to court “to see what a dictatorship looks like”.

Another journalist, Dea Mamuseišvili, insulted the leader of the Georgian Dream parliamentary group, Mamuka Mdinaradze, calling him a ‘bastard, scoundrel and monster’, and in court she assured that ‘I really mean it, in fact I would use much worse words’.

According to many commentators, one of the aims of the crackdown could be to shut down Facebook completely in Georgia, while also restricting all other social networks, which are considered ‘tools of a foreign-funded hate campaign’.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze supported these measures, stating that ‘there must be no place for hatred in Georgian society, and we have the legal right to crack down hard on this trend.’ It is no coincidence that Facebook has been declared an ‘extremist organisation’ in Russia since 2022, and Georgia is following its powerful neighbour in this regard.