Lawyer Shota Tutberidze has been fined GEL 4,000 over a social media comment directed at MP Nino Tsilosani. The ruling was issued by Judge Davit Makaradze.
The case is being viewed as one of the first precedents under a legal mechanism that provides for liability for verbal insults directed at political officials.
The proceedings stem from a Facebook post published by MP Nino Tsilosani on June 2 regarding her visit to Canada, on which Tutberidze left a comment. Following the comment, the Ministry of Internal Affairs launched an administrative offense case.
The investigation was conducted by the Ministry’s Department for Combating Hate Speech. The agency relied on a provision of the Code of Administrative Offenses concerning verbal insults directed at political officials.
Following the court’s decision, Tsilosani said the case represents an important precedent and establishes a new practice for responding to offensive statements shared on social media.
“It turned out that the offensive comment made on my post was the first precedent, and I am glad that a very good practice has been established and a specific response has followed the insults that are so abundantly spewed, especially by representatives of the United National Movement and their supporters,” Tsilosani said on Imedi TV.
She claimed that Tutberidze is a lawyer affiliated with the UNM and said offensive statements are a common occurrence for him. Tsilosani added that the court’s decision sends a signal not only to one individual but also to others that such actions will no longer go unanswered.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Department for Combating Hate Speech began operating on June 1. The unit is tasked with monitoring and proactively identifying offensive or insulting statements on social media or in media outlets that may constitute administrative offenses under Georgia’s Code of Administrative Offenses.
Opposition figures and critics of the ruling Georgian Dream party say the move amounts to an attempt to restrict freedom of expression under the pretext of tackling hate speech.
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