Tbilisi City Court Judge Lela Tsagareishvili has found TV Pirveli cameraman Lasha Jioshvili guilty of an administrative offense and imposed a 2,500 GEL fine. Jioshvili was released from the courtroom after the ruling.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs had charged Jioshvili with violating Article 173 of the Administrative Offenses Code, which pertains to disobeying police orders.

Police officers and protest participants who were with Jioshvili testified during the proceedings. The officers stated that on February 18, these individuals were moving suspiciously, leading police to believe they might commit illegal acts, so they stopped them. According to the officers, Lasha Jioshvili displayed aggression and disobeyed their orders, resulting in his detention.

Lasha Jioshvili connects his detention to the protest placard he was holding. He claims he was with a friend, had violated no laws, and was abducted by individuals in civilian clothes. According to Jioshvili, these people were not wearing police identification uniforms. He suggests that if citizens had not started filming the detention, the officers might have planted drugs on him.

The defense attorneys are protesting the judge’s decision, arguing that she disregarded neutral evidence – specifically video footage showing that the individuals were not wearing police uniforms and that Jioshvili offered no resistance. The lawyers claim the judge only considered false testimony from the police officers.