Activist Arrested Over Alleged Assault on Bailiff Remanded in Custody
On June 21, Tbilisi City Court Judge Eka Barbakadze sent activist and teacher Nino Datashvili to pretrial detention following charges filed by the Interior Ministry accusing her of assaulting a bailiff.
Datashvili was arrested on June 20, nine days after the Interior Ministry launched a criminal probe on charges of assaulting a public servant, saying the activist “did not comply with the bailiff officers and physically assaulted one of them.” She faces four to seven years in prison if convicted.
The case stems from a June 9 incident during a tense day of hearings at Tbilisi City Court, where Datashvili was forcibly removed from the building by about five bailiffs. The Interior Ministry said the alleged assault occurred after bailiffs informed the activist that she could not enter the hearing, as it had already started and there was no space inside.
Video footage from the scene shows bailiffs dragging her out as the activist tries to free herself, screaming, “Let me go, it hurts.” The video appears to show her frantically swinging her hands at a bailiff while being restrained and removed, though the force of the contact is unclear.
At the June 21 hearing, prosecutors argued that bailiff Giorgi Sharikidze “experienced physical pain” from two slaps and that Datashvili also tried to hit his foot with hers. Prosecutors requested pretrial detention, claiming Datashvili may repeat the alleged crime, obstruct the investigation, or flee the country.
Datashvili’s defense requested bail with conditions including periodic police check-ins and surrendering her passport. Judge Barbakadze granted the prosecutors’ request without leaving the courtroom to deliberate, according to reports from the court.
The arrest comes amid worries that authorities arbitrarily and disproportionately apply heavy criminal charges to relatively minor incidents to crack down on dissent.
In a separate case, journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, 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. On June 12, 21-year-old protester Mate Devidze was sentenced to four and a half years in jail on similar charges, over an incident where he was swinging a stick-like object at police officers pursuing him during an early-morning dispersal of a protest rally on November 19, 2024.
Dozens of detained protesters remain behind bars, awaiting verdicts on charges including group violence and assaulting police officers, amid concerns about the fairness of the trial and the truthfulness of the police testimonies. The arrests and convictions come as no police officer has been held accountable, despite dozens of documented cases of police violence against protesters and journalists during the first weeks of non-stop demonstrations that erupted on November 28, 2024, after Georgian Dream announced it was halting EU integration.
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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