Georgian court fines ex-serviceman over insult to German Ambassador

A Georgian court has fined a former serviceman 1,000 GEL for verbally insulting the German ambassador during a recent visit to the coastal city of Batumi.

Judge Salikh Shainidze of the Batumi City Court handed down the fine to Valeri Kochiashvili, a self-styled "representative of the third force," after finding him guilty of petty hooliganism under Georgia’s Code of Administrative Offences.

The incident occurred on 18 May, when Ambassador Peter Fischer visited Batumi alongside an Austrian Member of the European Parliament to attend the trial of media manager Mzia Amaglobeli, the founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti.

Footage shared by Kochiashvili on social media shows him hurling insults at the ambassador in the street. The video circulated widely on pro-government media channels prior to the German embassy’s confirmation of the incident.

In a statement issued on 20 May, the German Embassy in Tbilisi expressed dismay at the lack of a police presence during the episode but thanked local residents who intervened.

“The embassy would like to thank those Georgians who happened to witness the incident and supported the ambassador in this situation as a guest of their city,” the statement read. “After the Georgians standing around pointed out to Mr Kochiashvili his unworthy behavior, he quickly left the scene.”

Ambassador Fischer later described the incident as "a very un-Georgian act."

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party, also weighed in, calling the verbal attack “annoying.”

Following the court's decision on 23 May, Kochiashvili took to TikTok to criticise the ruling, calling it "unfair." While acknowledging offers from followers to help pay the fine, he insisted this was unnecessary and instead called on Georgian Dream officials to cover the cost.

In a monologue, he said “I expressed my heartache against the peddlers of the land and the [foreign] agency... Will I no longer speak? If I meet unmanly people and dragged-down devils, will I not say anything to them?”