Georgian doctor jailed for 25 days over profane Facebook post

Giorgi Akhobadze

A doctor and pro-European activist in Georgia has been sentenced to 25 days in detention over a Facebook post containing profanities directed at police officers.

Giorgi Akhobadze was arrested by police at his home in Tbilisi shortly after the city's court delivered the ruling on Friday.

The case stems from a complaint filed by the Interior Ministry's new Department for Monitoring Hate Speech after Dr Akhobadze published comments targeting officers who had previously testified against him in a drug trial.

"I stand by every word of that post," Akhobadze told local broadcaster TV Pirveli prior to his arrest. "I'll spend 25 days in a cell, get some rest, and if they think I'll come out thinking differently, they're very much mistaken."

Akhobadze did not attend the court hearing, where he was represented by his lawyer, Mikheil Zakareishvili.

The doctor was originally arrested in December 2024 while returning from a pro-European demonstration and charged with drug possession. Akhobadze maintained that officers had planted the drugs on him, and he was acquitted in August 2025 following an eight-month trial. His recent social media post specifically addressed the officers involved in that prosecution.

Akhobadze is the second high-profile figure in Georgia to be jailed within days under a widening crackdown on offensive online commentary.

On 22 July, prominent journalist and Formula TV host Vakho Sanaia was sentenced to 14 days of administrative detention over a Facebook post containing profane language aimed at senior officials in the ruling Georgian Dream party.

The cases follow the launch on 1 June of the Interior Ministry's Department for Monitoring Hate Speech. The unit is tasked with proactively monitoring online platforms to identify statements deemed to insult public figures or violate human dignity.

According to data reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the unit identified 170 alleged administrative offences and referred 150 cases to court within its first month of operation.

Courts have already issued rulings in dozens of these cases, fining at least 31 people. Most of those targeted have been activists participating in mass demonstrations demanding Georgia return to its path toward European integration, which have continued across the country for nearly two years.