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A court in the western Georgian city of Zugdidi has imposed hefty fines on two activists accused of verbally insulting Georgian Dream MP Irakli Zarkua. Meanwhile, a Tbilisi-based activist faces 45 days in prison over similar accusations made by another ruling party MP, Mariam Lashkhi.
The incident involving Zarkua and Zugdidi activists Mariam Sichinava and Keren Esebua occurred on 20 May at a hotel in the city.
According to Sichinava, who is also a member of the opposition Droa party, she, Esebua, and another friend had reserved a table at the hotel’s restaurant. However, when she arrived, she was told that the restaurant was closed and they would not be allowed in.
‘[After a while], the hotel security let it slip that Zarkua was upstairs, and that was why they weren’t letting me in’, Sichinava said. She assumed that the security guard recognised her from her political activism and, therefore, hesitated to let her upstairs. The guard insisted that her intention was to meet with Zarkua, which Sichinava denied.
Sichinava stated that she also tried to clarify the matter with the manager, but in the meantime, Zarkua himself came downstairs, and Sichinava and Esebua greeted him with shouts.
According to a livestream shared by Sichinava on Facebook, a verbal altercation took place between the activists and Zarkua and his entourage while Zarkua was walking to his car.
‘When Zarkua reached the car, he told Keren [Esebua]: “Talk to your mother with these words and speak this way at home” […] Naturally, we were upset and told him to fuck off from the city’, Sichinava said.
She added that, although it is not audible in the video, after getting into his car, Zarkua spat on the ground and cursed at the activists’ mothers, to which they responded with cursing as well.
Sichinava also claimed that one of Zarkua’s companions hit Esebua, causing her to drop her phone, damaging its case. The activists later shared a short footage saying that they partially captured the incident on video.
Subsequently, the activists called the police and filed a complaint against Zarkua and his companions, accusing them of verbal and physical abuse. However, it later emerged that the activists were charged under the administrative code.
On 23 May, separate court hearings were held, resulting in Sichinava being fined ₾4,000 ($1,500) and Esebua ₾3,500 ($1,300). They were charged under one of the many laws passed by Georgian Dream amidst the ongoing anti-government protests, which introduced insulting officeholders as an administrative offence. The article provides for both an fine of up to ₾4,000 or administrative arrest for up to 45 days.
The incident in Zugdidi was characterised by pro-government media as an ‘attack’ on Zarkua, and Georgian Dream officials claimed it was premeditated and encouraged from abroad, echoing their frequent rhetoric that its critics are directed by foreign powers.
Zarkua later stated that the incident aimed to ‘radicalise’ the public ahead of Georgia’s Independence Day on 26 May, and that the confrontation was encouraged by ‘certain groups’ from the West.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also commented on the incident, saying that ‘responsibility for the attack lies directly with representatives of the European bureaucracy, whose actions encourage violence against certain politicians. This will not go unanswered’.
The fine was just one of many issued to Sichinava under newly adopted laws viewed as repressive by critics of the government.
After the ruling party banned face coverings and the use of fireworks at protests, Sichinava continued to use fireworks and to cover her face during demonstrations actions as a sign of protest, resulting in her being fined nearly ₾80,000 ($29,000), according to her.
‘These fines keep piling up, but they don’t take anything away from me. I’m not going to pay them. The more they increase the number of these fines, the more they put themselves in a ridiculous situation’, she said.
Sichinava is a single mother, and since her minor child receives the benefits deposited into her bank account, the state cannot seize her accounts due to unpaid fines.
Following the incident with Zarkua, her account was frozen for several hours, but the restriction was later lifted. According to the activist, the National Enforcement Bureau confirmed that her account was frozen, saying it was due to a technical error. However, Sichinava believes the move was connected to the Zarkua case and that it was reversed in response to public backlash after she posted about it on social media.
‘Down with Russia’s slaves’
Another administrative case on the same charges has been initiated against 20-year-old Tatia Apriamashvili for confronting Georgian Dream MP Mariam Lashkhi. The Interior Ministry has demanded that he serve the maximum administrative detention period of 45 days.
Apriamashvili had confronted Lashkhi at a cafe in central Tbilisi on 17 May, where he and fellow activist Magda Mamukashvili heckled her with slogans such as ‘Freedom to political prisoners’ and ‘Down with Russia’s slaves’.
Lashkhi said that this action ‘should be met with an appropriate response’, emphasising that she was accompanied by her young children at the time.
In response, Apriamashvili accused Lashkhi of ‘manipulation with children’ and recalled government actions against several activists, including Mariam Bajelidze, whose home was searched by police in the presence of her young child.
‘Whenever I encounter any [Georgian Dream representative], people who made our youth miserable […], beat us and broke our facial bones, we will always let those people know that they are slaves of Russia’, Apriamashvili told Formula.
Lashkhi has also pressed charges against Mamukashvili, with the case scheduled to go to court on Tuesday.
