Georgian Dream to Sue Critics Over “Insults” on Social Media
The Georgian Dream faction in Georgia’s one-party parliament is filing a complaint with the Interior Ministry against its critics over what it considers “insults” made in public space, including on social media, against them.
“Foreign-funded extremists do not shy away from swearing, intimidating, bullying, insulting our family members and relatives. This has become so widespread and systemic that responding to the terror is not just our right, but our obligation as well,” GD MP Irakli Kirtskhalia said during a June 6 briefing, announcing the complaint as a response to what he called an “externally funded hate speech campaign.”
Responding to a journalist’s follow-up question, he added that the complaint concerns “the filthiest phrases and insults” made in “social media, public space” against officials.
He cited amendments to legislation rushed in February that made “insulting” officials in public an administrative offense. The amendments were criticized by the Venice Commission, which urged the authorities to revisit and review them. In its urgent opinion, the Commission pointed to “a number of vague and broadly framed provisions” that give the authorities “excessively broad discretion in their application,” warning that the lack of legal clarity “increases the risk of abuse.”
The announcement comes amid several cases in which activists have been fined or sent to administrative detention following public confrontations with GD MPs, who deemed their remarks as “insults.”
In a separate case, the court on May 1 fined TV Pirveli cameraman Lasha Jioshvili GEL 3000 (approximately USD 1100) for a Facebook post allegedly insulting a police officer.
Nona Kurdovanidze, head of Georgian Young Lawyers Association, said that today’s announcement was “concerning,” noting that legislative amendments had prompted fears upon their adoption that the GD would be using the new laws to target social media posts.
“Such a move, relating to phrases voiced on social media […] is a step backward and once again aims to restrict freedom of expression,” she said.
During the briefing, GD MP Kirtskhalia claimed that “there is no longer a line between verbal criticism and systemic hatred, which aims to undermine state sovereignty and destabilize key institutions.” He accused “foreign-funded NGOs, foreign donors, and, in some cases, foreign governments” of “encouraging” what he described as “organized terror.”
He further claimed that “relevant donors” and “specific embassies” responded to Georgian Dream’s calls to condemn such incidents with “cynicism” and by “encouraging extremism.”
“Hate speech, be it orchestrated insults, a targeted campaign, or the encouragement of political violence, cannot be part of Georgian politics,” he added.
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