Georgian demonstrator criminally charged for ‘tearing up case materials’ in court

Baia Margishvili, a participant in the anti-government protests in Tbilisi, has been criminally charged for tearing up case materials during a court hearing. She is now facing up to two years in prison.

The case concerns a hearing held on 7 November 2025 at Tbilisi City Court, where Margishvili was being tried under administrative charges of blocking a road during the ongoing daily anti-government protests on the capital’s central avenue.

At the time, Judge Zviad Tsekvava sentenced her to 14 days in prison. However, Margishvili was unable to attend the announcement of the ruling, as she had been removed from the courtroom beforehand, after tearing up case materials in protest and throwing them onto Tsekvava’s desk.

‘I was trying to explain [to Tsekvava] that [Prime Minister Irakli] Kobakhidze had torn the Constitution over our heads’, Margishvili told OC Media.

‘When he wouldn’t listen to me and wouldn’t let me speak, I went over to my lawyer, took the case materials, tore them up right in front of him, threw them down, and said: “This is how Kobakhidze tore up the Constitution for us” ’, she added.

According to Margishvili, in addition to being removed from the courtroom, Tsekvava also fined her ₾200 ($75) for her actions. Despite already paying this penalty, Margishvili was notified on Wednesday that she had been charged in absentia with contempt of court.

Under Georgia’s criminal code, contempt of court expressed through insulting a judge is punishable by a fine, corrective labour for a period of one to two years, or imprisonment for up to two years.

Margishvili, a 31 year-old lawyer, has been involved in the anti-government protest movement for years. She became particularly active in 2023, when the ruling party began introducing a series of restrictive legislations targeting civil society, independent media, and other critics.

After serving the 14-day sentence handed down in November 2025, she was detained again that same month, and sentenced to five days in prison, this time on charges of blocking the road.

Commenting on the latest charge, she told OC Media that ‘tearing up a sheet, speaking the truth, and protesting injustice’ is more of a problem for the authorities than fighting ‘real crime’.

The latest wave of protests in Georgia began in November 2024, after the authorities announced the ‘postponement’ of Georgia’s EU accession efforts until 2028.

Since then, the government has passed numerous legislation targeting protests, increasing protest-related fines or replacing them with imprisonment for the very first offence.

Georgian opposition leader Nika Melia sentenced to additional 1.5 years for throwing water at judge

Melia is already serving an eight-month sentence for failing to appear before an anti-opposition parliamentary commission.

OC MediaYousef Bardouka