Georgian TV anchor sentenced to 30 days for online criticism of ruling party

A court in Tbilisi ordered the imprisonment of TV presenter Vakho Sanaia for 30 days because of online posts that insulted leaders of the Georgian Dream party. This is the journalist's second time in custody and his third sanction for criticizing the ruling coalition, which has been in power since 2012 and was re-elected in October 2024. Sanaia, who anchors for the opposition outlet Formula, previously received a 14-day sentence in July for comparable vulgar comments about the parliamentary speaker and another party figure.

The government recently created an interior-ministry unit to police statements deemed hateful, and dozens have faced arrests or fines for protest signs and online criticism, including remarks about billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili. Human Rights Watch and other NGOs have condemned the prosecutions as threats to free expression, while the Constitutional Court is set to hear a Georgian Dream-filed case that could outlaw the country's largest opposition parties.