TV Pirveli cameraman Lasha Jioshvili was fined 3,000 GEL ($1100) for insulting a police officer on Facebook. Gori District Court Judge Davit Papuashvili found Jioshvili guilty of an offense under Article 173, Part 2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which refers to the verbal insult of a police officer.
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On April 6, Lasha Jioshvili published videos on his Facebook profile exposing police officers for violating traffic rules. In the same post, he tagged the Ministry of Internal Affairs and cursed the agency for its lack of response. On April 8, police issued Jioshvili an administrative offense report, citing insult to a police officer.
"This article pertains to insulting a police officer while performing official duties. Lasha Jioshvili did not insult any specific police officer. He expressed protest and a negative attitude toward the ministry. We will appeal the decision," said his lawyer, Lekso Merebashvili.
The Georgian Dream parliament added Part 2 to Article 173 last spring due to continuous protests against Ivanishvili's government. The sanction was defined as a fine ranging from 2,000 ($730) to 5,000 GEL ($1825) or administrative detention for up to 60 days.
Previously, verbal insult and/or other insulting actions against a police officer (excluding cases covered by the Criminal Code of Georgia) were covered under Part 1 of Article 173. This offense carried a fine ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 GEL or administrative detention for up to 15 days.
In 2022, Giorgi Arobelidze, a journalist for the online platform "Mautskebeli," challenged Part 1 of Article 173 of the Code of Administrative Offenses in the Constitutional Court of Georgia. Batumi City Court fined him 2,000 GEL on February 28, 2022. According to the court decision, "Giorgi Arobelidze interfered with the police operation through his actions. He shouted and called on police officers to stop the detention of G.L."
The author of the constitutional lawsuit believes that the content of the disputed article contradicts Article 17 of the Constitution of Georgia, which states that "freedom of thought and expression is protected. It is inadmissible to persecute a person for their opinion and its expression."
Almost three years have passed since the lawsuit was filed in the Constitutional Court, and the first, preparatory hearing has not even been held yet.
