18:26, 15 September 2026

Malkhaz Machalikashvili was fined for insulting Ivanishvili.

The Akhmet Magistrate Court fined the father of the murdered Temirlan Machalikashvili, Malkhaz Machalikashvili, for insulting the founder of the "Georgian Dream" party, Bidzina Ivanishvili. Previously, he was fined under a similar article for insulting Irakli Chikovani, whom Machalikashvili considers responsible for his son's case.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in August 2024, the defense of Temirlan Machalikashvili's family, who was shot during a special operation in the Pankisi Gorge, appealed to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, urging them to respond to Georgia's failure to comply with the ECHR's decision for a new investigation into Machalikashvili's murder.

19-year-old Temirlan Machalikashvili was fatally wounded in his home in the Pankisi Gorge on December 26, 2017, during a special operation by the State Security Service, and died in the hospital two weeks later. After his death, law enforcement stated that Machalikashvili had attempted to throw a grenade at them. The family of the deceased claims that the young man was shot while in bed. Human rights defenders pointed to failures in the investigation of Machalikashvili's death. In January 2023, the ECHR recognized the investigation into Temirlan's death as ineffective and awarded his relatives 25,000 euros in compensation. In November of the same year, human rights defenders demanded that the Special Investigation Service implement the ECHR's decision and immediately resume the investigation. The case of Machalikashvili was included by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in the list of unresolved cases of violations of key human rights by law enforcement agencies. On June 19, the Special Investigation Service of Georgia announced that a re-investigation into Machalikashvili's death was unfeasible.

The father of the murdered Temirlan Machalikashvili, Malkhaz Machalikashvili, was fined one thousand lari (about 370 dollars) for insulting the founder of the "Georgian Dream" party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, reports the publication "Main News from Kakheti" today.

The case is related to a violation of the law identified by the Department for Combating Hate Speech of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The decision was made by Judge Teona Kobiashvili of the Akhmet Magistrate Court at a session of the Telavi District Court. Malkhaz Machalikashvili himself was not present at the session.

Malkhaz Machalikashvili had previously been fined two thousand lari (about 740 dollars) for a similar offense. At the end of July, a judge of the Telavi District Court found him guilty of an administrative offense for "offensive statements made publicly" against Irakli Chikovani, the deputy director of the Central Criminal Police Department, reports the Pirveli TV company.

It is noted that Malkhaz Machalikashvili has for years referred to Chikovani as the main figure in his son's case and responsible for his death. Irakli Chikovani was the head of the counter-terrorism center of the State Security Service during the special operation conducted at the Machalikashvili home.

In Georgia, critical statements against the authorities, including on social media, have become grounds for administrative proceedings. Law enforcement refers to the need to protect public order and combat "hate speech." The main focus is on protecting public officials and politicians.

Malkhaz Machalikashvili himself, in response to the court's decision, appealed to the government and Ivanishvili, urging them to find the courage and time to meet with him face to face.

"I have such hard days, I shouldn't even look around and shouldn't worry about anything except my mother's condition. It turns out I am fined twice for insulting Ivanishvili. The previous fine was for a scoundrel, not for Chikovani; before that, there was another comment against Ivanishvili, based on which the Tbilisi City Court found me guilty in two court cases," Machalikashvili wrote on Facebook*.

Translated automatically via OpenAI from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/426649