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Day: September 22, 2026
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has accepted the case of Georgian activist Irakli Miladze. The case concerns freedom of expression online and administrative proceedings brought against the activist.
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) asked the court to refer Miladze’s case to the Grand Chamber in August 2026.
According to GYLA chair Tamar Oniani, this means that until the Grand Chamber delivers its judgment, Georgia’s city and appeals courts cannot cite the case as a precedent when restricting freedom of expression on social media.
Irakli Miladze case
In 2022, authorities fined activist Irakli Miladze for using profanity in a video in which he criticised Tbilisi’s transport policy. He directed some of the offensive language at the city mayor, municipal officials and police officers.
Authorities brought the case under Article 166 of the Code of Administrative Offences, which covers petty hooliganism, including the use of obscene language in public places. Tbilisi City Court ordered Miladze to pay 2,000 lari [~$740], but the Court of Appeal reduced the fine to 500 lari [~$185].
On 19 May 2026, the ECHR’s Fourth Section ruled on the case and found that the authorities had not violated Miladze’s freedom of expression, which Article 10 of the Convention protects.
The court found that Miladze’s statements did not form part of a public debate and therefore did not warrant the same level of protection for freedom of expression as statements on matters of political or public interest.
The court also considered the size of the fine and its consequences, noting that the sanction did not prevent Miladze from continuing his civic and political activities. At the same time, the court confirmed that the concept of a “public space” also covers online platforms when they are widely accessible to the public.
The case will now be reconsidered, but this does not mean that the Grand Chamber has already found that Miladze’s rights were violated. In its final judgment, it may uphold the previous ruling or take a different position.
The key question will be whether Miladze’s statements on TikTok were protected by freedom of expression and whether imposing an administrative fine on him was justified.
According to GYLA, the significance of referring the case to the Grand Chamber is further underscored by the fact that, after the May 2026 ruling, the Interior Ministry established a so-called “censorship department”. GYLA says its activities are linked to administrative cases brought against citizens over opinions they post on social media.
Irakli Miladze case
Tbilisi City Court sentenced Megis Kardava, a jailed former senior Defense Ministry official and one of the most controversial figures under the United National Movement government already been convicted in several high-profile criminal cases, to 11 years in prison over alleged misappropriation and embezzlement of GEL 768,107 in state funds. The sentence was subsequently reduced to five years and six months under the 2012 Georgian Amnesty Law, the Prosecutor’s Office said on September 22.
Kardava had been wanted by the Georgian authorities since 2013 on multiple charges in eleven criminal cases. He was detained in Ukraine in 2017 and extradited from Kyiv in 2021. He has previously been found guilty in cases concerning the Navtlugi special operation, the 2006 prison riot, the torture and sexual abuse videos case, as well as organizing the torture and sexual abuse of retired colonel Sergo Tetradze, for which Kardava was sentenced to nine years in prison in absentia.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the latest case concerns the alleged misappropriation and embezzlement of GEL 768,107 between November 16, 2011, and August 2012, with the funds allegedly taken under the guise of operational expenses with the assistance of other senior Defense Ministry officials.
The agency said that on May 22, 2012, Kardava, then head of the Military Police Department, submitted a written request to then-Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia “under the article on covert expenses,” requesting GEL 330,000 for the department.
“With the minister’s consent, the funds transferred to the Military Police Department’s account were withdrawn from one of the banks on Megis Kardava’s instructions and converted, after which Megis Kardava illegally appropriated 200,000 US dollars,” the prosecutor’s office said.
According to the agency, fictitious documents were subsequently prepared on Kardava’s orders to conceal the misappropriation and embezzlement, “purporting to show that funds had been spent by a unit of the Military Police Department deployed to the Republic of Afghanistan for operational-search activities.” This allowed the funds in question “to be written off and the accounting records to be reconciled accordingly.”
The latest case is not Kardava’s first conviction for embezzlement. In September 2023, he was found guilty of embezzling GEL 60,000 belonging to the Defense Ministry and sentenced to eight years in prison. The sentence was subsequently reduced to four years under the Georgian Amnesty Law, along with a six-month ban on holding public office or employment.
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