“I want to tell the public that there is no circumstance in which I will restrict my freedom of speech. They will not be able to silence us!” journalist Vakho Sanaia said after being sentenced to 14 days of administrative detention over a social media post concerning Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and MP Vladimir Bozhadze.

According to him, it makes no difference to him what measure is used against him, whether a fine or imprisonment.

“No one can prohibit me from saying what I want to say and expressing myself the way I want. The hearings themselves, which I do not attend, are absurd. The judge puts a stamp on the words they do not like and says that these are the people to whom those words belong. They are discussing something unimaginable—I do not even know what exactly they are discussing.

I want to tell the public that there is no circumstance in which I will restrict my freedom of speech. This is a step on my part, proof that if freedom of expression is destroyed in the country, it means that everyone should put a lock on their mouths. This will not happen! Ivanishvili must know this! They will not be able to silence us,” Sanaia said.

Vakho Sanaia is currently at his home.

“Their message is that we should remain silent, while my message is that I will not remain silent. No matter what fine they impose or whether they use imprisonment, I will not remain silent. This is what I am telling Ivanishvili, his so-called government, and the public. They will come—they know the address,” Sanaia told journalists.

The Tbilisi City Court previously sentenced journalist Vakho Sanaia to 14 days of administrative detention over a social media post concerning Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and MP Vladimir Bozhadze. The decision was issued by Judge Zviad Tsekvava. The Hate Speech Combat Unit established at the Ministry of Internal Affairs had filed the case with the Tbilisi City Court for a legal response to the post.