MIA Probes Alleged Assault on Bailiff by Activist Dragged out of Court
Georgia’s Interior Ministry said on June 11 that it launched a criminal investigation against activist Nino Datashvili for allegedly assaulting a civil servant during a June 9 incident at Tbilisi City Court, where she was forcibly removed by bailiffs while attempting to attend a hearing for detained protesters.
The Interior Ministry claimed Nino Datashvili “did not comply with the bailiff officers and physically assaulted one of them” after being told she could not enter the courtroom because the hearing had already started and there was no space inside. She may be fined or imprisoned for up to three years.
Video footage of the incident shows around five bailiffs approaching Nino Datashvili as she sat on a bench and forcibly dragging her out of the court building amid tensions. At one moment, she is heard screaming at officers to release her newly operated arm.
On June 10, the pro-government TV Imedi posted a social media card featuring a screenshot from the video of Nino Datashvili’s removal from the court, claiming that it shows her hitting an officer. “Nino Datashvili, an opposition activist, slapped the bailiff in the courthouse,” the GD’s media mouthpiece wrote. In Imedi’s video, she can be seen frantically raising her hands while being held by bailiffs, though it is unclear whether an actual slap occurred.
In a separate case, journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, in nearly five months in pre-trial detention, faces four to seven years in prison for slapping Batumi Police Chief Irakli Dgebuadze, an incident authorities have classified as an assault on a police officer.
Also Read:
- 06/06/2025 – Activist Sent to Ten-Day Detention Amid Claims Arrest Linked to GD Flag Burning
- 31/05/2025 – Court Sends Students to 12-Day Detention for Allegedly Insulting MP
- 02/06/2025 – Court Jails Two for Three Years for Camera Damage During Protests
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