Journalist Vakho Sanaia jailed for 30 days for “insulting officials”, vows regime will fall

Journalist Vakho Sanaia has been sentenced to 30 days’ administrative detention. Judge Tornike Kochkiani delivered the ruling, while Sanaia was not present at the hearing. The Interior Ministry accused Sanaia of insulting political officials in three social media posts.

After the verdict was announced, and before he was detained, Sanaia said: “My arrest aims to silence society. Society will never be silenced. We will bring this regime down, and however long it takes, it will end in our victory.”

Sanaia has previously served 14 days of administrative detention. The Interior Ministry’s Department for Combating Hate Speech sought legal action over a social media post.