July 22 marks the 151st anniversary of the founding of Azerbaijan’s national press, AzerNEWS reports.
Day: July 22, 2026
“Украина наносит множество ударов по логистике в России, и это происходит за линией фронта. Мы говорим о расстоянии примерно от 50 до 100 км. И, конечно, каждый такой удар, как мне кажется, влияет на возможности российских войск на передовой. Чем меньше у них оружия, топлива и личного состава, тем медленнее они могут продвигаться. Однако пока мы не наблюдаем переломного момента непосредственно на линии фронта. Мы не видим общей тенденции, при которой Украина возвращала бы себе или освобождала территории, как это происходило, например, осенью и зимой 2022 года”. Читайте большое интервью немецкого эксперта и журналиста Юлиана Рёпке о положении на фронте в Украине
Визит Президента Ильхама Алиева в Германию оказался в центре внимания более 70 мировых СМИ.
Arrests over social media posts in Georgia
On 22 July 2026, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced journalist and Formula TV host Vakho Sanaia to 14 days of administrative detention over posts he published on Facebook. The ruling was handed down by Judge Zviad Tsekvava.
The case against Sanaia was launched over Facebook posts about Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and MP Vladimer Bozhadze. Bozhadze has represented the European Socialists party since 2025, although he entered parliament on the ruling Georgian Dream party list following the 2024 parliamentary elections.
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The Hate Speech Department, established within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, referred the case to Tbilisi City Court for legal review.
Following an investigation by the department, Sanaia was fined 6,000 lari on 10 July.
In the post that led to the fine, Sanaia wrote: “I hope no one called [Vladimer Bozhadze] d**k, because the law prohibits calling Lado d**k. I would also like to urge everyone not to call Lado a d**k.”
After being fined, Sanaia published another post of a similar nature on social media: “I wrote a post saying, ‘Don’t call Papuashvili and Bozhadze d**k,’ and I was fined 6,000 lari. Am I missing something? Give them a call.”
On 18 July, Sanaia said the court had contacted him over the post and informed him that a hearing had been scheduled in his case.
Sanaia did not attend the court hearing.
“I’m laughing,” he wrote on social media after news emerged that he had been sentenced to administrative detention.
Brief overview of the department
Administrative cases over opinions expressed in the public sphere are initiated on the basis of reports compiled by the Hate Speech Department, which was established within the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The new department has been operating since 1 June.
Its mandate is to monitor and identify public statements that violate human dignity, contain insults or elements of hate speech, where they may constitute an administrative offence.
According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, between the department’s launch and 2 July, it identified 170 alleged offences, 150 of which were referred to court.
Of those 150 cases, rulings had been issued in 33 by that date. Thirty-one people were fined, while two received verbal warnings. Most of those fined were activists. Vakho Sanaia became the first journalist to be fined on the basis of a report compiled by the department.
АArrests over social media posts in Georgia
A group of six United Nations human rights experts has expressed concern over Armenia’s use of counter-terrorism legislation against members of the opposition Holy Struggle movement and the police response to anti-government protests in 2024, warning that the measures could be inconsistent with the country’s international human rights obligations, AzerNEWS reports.
Vakho Sanaia, a journalist and anchor at opposition-leaning Formula TV, was sent to 14 days of administrative detention over a Facebook post concerning Georgian Dream Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and MP Vladimer Bozhadze.
While several people had previously been detained over social media statements that courts found “insulting” toward public officials, Sanaia is the first known person to be placed in administrative detention following a complaint by the Interior Ministry’s “hate speech” division, which flagged his Facebook post.
Tbilisi City Court Judge Zviad Tsekvava announced the ruling on July 22, granting the Interior Ministry’s request for detention. Sanaia did not attend the hearing.
The journalist was previously fined GEL 6,000 (approximately USD 2,300) on July 10 by Judge Tornike Kochkiani in a separate but similar case brought by the same “hate speech” division over his Facebook posts concerning Papuashvili and Bozhadze.
Following the fine, Sanaia wrote, “I wrote a status saying, ‘Don’t call Papuashvili and Bozhadze d***s,’ and I was fined GEL 6,000 for it. Well, I don’t know then — I guess call them that.” The detention has been ordered over this post, as an MIA official told media that the request for a harsher penalty was filed because Sanaia “continued the unlawful conduct” after receiving the fine.
After the detention ruling was announced, Sanaia again wrote on Facebook, “For 14 days, don’t call Shalva [Papuashvili] and Lado [Bozhadze] d***s. When I get out, I’ll take care of that matter myself,” adding laughing emojis.**
The Interior Ministry’s Division for Combating Hate Speech, established on June 1 to monitor “hate speech” in public spaces, including on social media, and file complaints with courts, often without a request from an individual who would be considered “insulted,” has been involved in dozens of cases resulting in fines ranging from GEL 1,500 to GEL 6,000 over social media posts and comments, with courts across the country hearing such cases on a near-daily basis.
The division primarily brings charges under Articles 166 (petty hooliganism) and 173 (insulting or disobeying a police officer) of Georgia’s Code of Administrative Offenses.
One earlier case also involved Sanaia, but this time as the person deemed “insulted.” On June 25, Judge Zviad Tsekvava fined citizen Zurab Osikmashvili GEL 2,000 for a Facebook comment targeting the journalist. However, Sanaia later said that he was not informed about the proceedings, calling the ruling “a fight against freedom of expression” and saying that “people cannot be fined for comments.”
The division’s early cases have raised concerns that proceedings are moving forward without establishing whether the people allegedly insulted view themselves as victims. In one case, Georgian Dream MP Nino Tsilosani was reportedly neither questioned nor asked whether she felt insulted. In another, opposition leader Nika Gvaramia said he was unaware of the proceedings and had no complaint to make.
The type of speech that courts have deemed “insulting” has not been limited to swearing or offensive language. On July 21, Tbilisi City Court fined protester Tamar Giorgadze GEL 3,000 over a Facebook post in which she cursed Georgian Dream founder and honorary chairman, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and those close to him.
In a separate case, Judge Davit Makaradze fined exiled civic activist Nata Peradze GEL 3,000 after the “hate speech” division accused her of insulting Bera Ivanishvili, the son of Bidzina Ivanishvili, in a Facebook post.
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