Manipulation Claiming That Citizens Were Fined GEL 18 Million Due to Protests

Since February 21, information has been circulating that the state fined citizens GEL 18 million in January in connection with the protest rallies. This claim appears in the headline of a report aired on TV Pirveli channel and a Facebook post, but the actual news content and report text do not include this information. President Salome Zourabichvili also responded to these figures. Her comment was covered by various media outlets. Additionally, the political party For Georgia posted about GEL 18 million in fines in the context of the January 2025 protests on its Facebook page.

The information that citizens were fined GEL 18 million in January due to protests is being spread manipulatively. In January 2025, approximately GEL 18 million was collected from all administrative fines, which include not only protest-related penalties but also fines for traffic violations, among others. 

The Georgian Treasury’s website provides data on state budget revenues, including income from sanctions – fines and penalties. In January 2025, the budget’s total revenue from fines amounted to GEL 21,587,714.6, of which GEL 17,935,845.54 were fines imposed for administrative violations.

This amount includes fines paid for all administrative violations. For example, it covers fines related to administrative offenses in the fields of transport, road management, and communications (GEL 15,918,782.25), including fines specifically for traffic violations (GEL 12,330,225.16). The Treasury document shows that the majority of revenue from administrative fines comes precisely from this type of violation.

As explained to Myth Detector by Mariam Pataridze, a lawyer from the Social Justice Center, citizens involved in protests are most commonly fined under Article 166 of the Administrative Offences Code (Disorderly conduct), Article 173 (Non-compliance with a lawful order or demand of a law-enforcement officer), and Article 174(1) (Violating the rules for organizing or holding assemblies or demonstrations). The fines imposed under these articles fall under the fines for violations of public order (Article 166) and violations of governance regulations (Articles 173 and 174(1)), which amount to GEL 56,344 and GEL 401,968, respectively, not GEL 18 million.

Notably, when comparing data from January 2025 to January 2024, the total amount of fines collected in the budget, as well as the amount paid for administrative violations, has decreased. However, fines for public order violations have increased, while fines for violations of governance regulations have decreased.

Source: Consolidated Budget Revenues of Georgia, January 2024, January 2025.

It is important to consider that fines must be paid within legally defined deadlines, and, therefore, the amount of fines and penalties collected in the budget in January does not reflect the exact amount of fines imposed during that month. Additionally, citizens sometimes appeal protest-related fines, which extend the payment deadlines.

Amid the protests that began in late October, a number of amendments were made to the Administrative Offences Code, significantly increasing fines for administrative violations. For example, while the fine for violating the rules for organizing and holding assemblies previously was GEL 500 for a participant and GEL 5,000 for an organizer, after the changes, these fines increased to GEL 5,000 and GEL 15,000, respectively. The fine for damaging the appearance of a municipality increased from GEL 50 to GEL 1,000. Moreover, wearing face masks and carrying lasers at protests were banned. Fines were introduced for the sale and use of fireworks. Yet another amendment introduced to the Administrative Offenses Code on February 7 made certain violations related to protests and demonstrations subject to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). This means that instead of the court issuing fines for these violations, the police can now do so directly. Citizens are often fined during daily protests in front of the parliament on the grounds that the number of protesters was insufficient to block the road. Nona Kurdovanidze, the head of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, stated that a GEL 5,000 fine is disproportionate, as it is 19 times higher than the minimum subsistence level, making it equivalent to criminal punishment for blocking a road.

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