The Tbilisi Court of Appeals has overturned a fine against a journalist from RFE/RL for ‘disobeying a judge’s order’ by sitting down without permission — a claim the journalist denied.
Nino Takhnishvili was fined ₾200 ($74) by Tbilisi City Court for contempt of court and disobeying the presiding judge, Romeo Tkeshelashvili, while covering the 7 July hearing of Giorgi Akhobadze, a protester detained during ongoing anti-government demonstrations.
Takhnishvili denied disobeying Tkeshelashvili’s order and appealed the fine the next day.
On Tuesday, the acting chair of the Court of Appeals, Irakli Shengelia, ruled in Takhnishvili’s favour, annulling the lower court’s decision.
According to RFE/RL, Shengelia wrote in his ruling that footage from the City Court showed that Tarkhnishvili stood up immediately after the court secretary called her to return from the break. He concluded that her decision to sit down without explicit permission did not amount to contempt of court or disobedience of the presiding judge’s order.
RFE/RL said that during the first part of the 7 July hearing, Tkeshelashvili had reportedly ordered all attendees who did not stand up upon his entrance to leave the courtroom. After the break, when the session resumed, the judge confronted and then fined two more individuals for the same reason — among them, Tarkhnishvili.
The journalist later recounted that she was surprised when Tkeshelashvili asked for her ID — something that usually happens when a courtroom attendee is accused of violating the rules. Tarkhnishvili emphasised that she had her laptop on her knees when the trial resumed, but still stood up after hearing the judge’s assistant say, ‘please stand up’.
According to Tarkhnishvili, while she was trying to explain to the judge that she had actually stood up, Tkeshelashvili replied: ‘Did anyone tell you to sit [back] down?!’
Irakli Shengelia was among three current and one former judge sanctioned by the US State Department in April 2023 for allegedly being members of a ‘clan’ in Georgia’s judicial system linked to the ruling party. Shengelia and his immediate family members were banned from entering the US.
According to RFE/RL, Romeo Tkeshelashvili attracted public attention in 2022 after refusing to take part in a US-funded judicial training programme, joining several other judges who declined the invitation in protest at the removal of Judge Lasha Chkhikvadze — who had presided over the case of the then-director of Mtavari Arkhi TV, Nika Gvaramia — from a training programme. In 2023, Tkeshelashvili also spoke out in defence of the judges sanctioned by the US, dismissing the move as ‘yet another false accusation’ in a Facebook post.
The decision to overturn the fine came a day before two other high profile cases concluded. On Wednesday, Georgian doctor Giorgi Akhobadze was acquitted of drug charges seen by many as political retribution for his protesting against the government. Also on Wednesday media founder and outspoken government critic Mzia Amaghlobeli was sentenced to two years in prison after the charges against her were downgraded at the last minute.
OC Media
