Journalist Vakho Sanaia has been arrested

Journalist Vakho Sanaia was arrested near his place of residence. Prior to the arrest, Judge Tornike Kochkiani sentenced him to 30 days of administrative detention. Sanaia did not attend the court hearing because he considers the prosecution for the posts to be absurd. He was waiting for the arrest process together with his family members, friends, and colleagues. Interpressnews+4

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Sanaia is charged with insulting political officials due to three posts published on social media. The Hate Speech Combat Division created within the Ministry of Internal Affairs appealed to the Tbilisi City Court for legal action on the case. Interpressnews

At the time of his arrest, Vakho Sanaia stated that the purpose of his arrest is to silence the public, however, according to him, "the public will not be silenced." Sanaia noted that he will "overturn this regime" and that "no imprisonment can change this situation." It is noteworthy that the journalist was previously in 14-day administrative detention on July 22, which was also related to a post published on social media. Interpressnews+5