The European Court of Human Rights found a violation of the European Convention in the case “Chkhartishvili v. Georgia” and ordered the state to pay 1,200 euros to the member of the Labor Party as compensation for moral damages.
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The court judgment states that Georgia violated Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights – freedom of peaceful assembly and association [read in the light of Article 10 – freedom of expression] in relation to Lasha Chkhartishvili.
The case appealed to the European Court of Justice concerned the arrest of Lasha Chkhartishvili amidst a protest rally held outside the National Library of the Parliament on November 29, 2019. On that day, the opposition politicians, civil activists, and ordinary citizens were protesting the torpedoing of the constitutional amendment on the transition to the proportional electoral system. Lasha Chkhartishvili was detained on administrative charges of minor disorder and police disobedience. The police report said that he was blocking the road and insulting members of the public, after which he disobeyed police instructions, threw beans at them, insulted and called them slaves.
The case was reviewed by Tbilisi City Court on the same day. Lasha Chkhartishvili requested to change Judge Valeriane Filashvili, as he felt like he adjudicated all politically charged cases, was biased, and obeyed instructions from outside the courtroom. Chkhartishvili was fined 300 GEL for disrespecting the court and removed from the courtroom. The lawyer of the defendant requested postponement of the trial, on the grounds that the defense needed time to study case materials and collect evidence. The lawyer also stated that he could not meet with Chkhartishvili before the hearing because the police did not disclose his location. The judge adjourned the session for three hours and ten minutes. After the renewal of the session, Judge Filashvili denied the request of the defense to question Chkhartishvili as a witness, postpone the session, or free the defendant.
At the trial, the employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who filed the administrative offense report pointed out that Lasha Chkhartishvili was a known offender and noted that at least on two occasions - in 2008 and 2014 - he was ordered to pay an administrative fine. The policeman was asking for a more stringent sentence.
Judge Valeriane Filashvili found Lasha Chkhartishvili guilty as charged and sentenced him to 8 days in prison. The court considered that actions insulting the dignity of police officers - calling them “slaves” and throwing beans at them while noting that beans used to be gruel for slaves - cannot be considered a form of protest.
Chkhartishvili appealed the verdict in the Court of Appeals, but his claim was not reviewed and the decision stood.
The European Court of Human Rights determined that the Georgian court did not present sufficient reasoning to justify the proportionality of the punishment. Specifically, the court noted:
- Public servants, including police officers, have a higher obligation to tolerate criticism than other citizens in the performance of their duties;
- The question of applying imprisonment to a person for a non-violent act should be checked with particular diligence by the court. The use of even a few days' imprisonment is an excessive interference with freedom of expression and may have a chilling effect;
- Freedom of expression protects not only the content of the protest but also the form of its expression. When a person's behavior during a peaceful demonstration is not violent, his action neither caused harm nor threatened to escalate the events, and the imprisonment is disproportionate.
According to Strasbourg Court, the national court applied a prison sentence against Lasha Chkhartishvili without considering these aspects at any point. In addition, the court pointed out that the decision of Judge Valeriane Filashvili was general and formulaic.
Lasha Chkhartishvili’s interests were represented by the nongovernmental organization Transparency International - Georgia. The organization states that national courts, which often make illegal, unjustified, and disproportionate decisions against participants in peaceful protests, are obliged to consider the established practices of the Strasbourg Court when dealing with cases of administrative offenses.
Valeriane Filashvili has been chaired as a judge of the Board of Administrative Affairs of Tbilisi in July 2019. He has been assigned indefinitely.
