Appeals Court upholds pretrial detention for activist and teacher Nino Datashvili

Tbilisi Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s decision to impose pretrial detention on civic activist and teacher Nino Datashvili, who is facing charges of assaulting a court bailiff. The ruling comes despite allegations that she herself was the victim of physical violence by court security staff during an incident on June 9 at the Tbilisi City Court.

The court justified its decision by citing general concerns about the risk of Datashvili fleeing, continuing criminal activity, or exerting pressure on witnesses. However, according to the rights group Partnership for Human Rights (PHR), which is representing her, the court failed to provide concrete evidence to support these claims. The NGO criticized both the first instance and appellate rulings for relying on “vague and abstract reasoning” without substantiating the alleged risks with specific facts.

In its statement, PHR also noted that the appellate court’s ruling did not engage with key defense arguments. These included the claim that Datashvili was subjected to physical force by court marshals and that she had no history of violence or flight risk. The court also ignored a request for an oral hearing, which was made in part due to the trial judge's failure to explain the refusal to grant bail during the original proceedings.

The charges stem from a June 9 confrontation in the lobby of Tbilisi City Court, where court bailiffs ordered Datashvili to vacate an area they claimed was restricted. She reportedly responded with verbal disagreement, after which she was forcibly removed her from the building — a moment captured on video.

Datashvili is being prosecuted under Article 353¹, part 3 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which covers violence against public officials and carries a sentence of four to seven years in prison.