Published on 28 April 2025
 
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 234/25
Giorgi KHAKHISHVILI
against Georgia
lodged on 29 November 2024
communicated on 8 April 2025
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The application concerns, under Article 11 of the Convention, the applicant’s criminal conviction for organising a protest with fellow villagers in Shukruti (a village in western Georgia) against allegedly environmentally harmful mining activities conducted by a private company (“the company”). Following a criminal complaint by the company, the applicant faced proceedings that led to his conviction by the Kutaisi Court of Appeals on 14 December 2023 under Article 226 of the Criminal Code (organised blockade) for picketing the company’s mining facilities and obstructing its other properties. He was fined 1,000 Georgian Lari (approximately 330 euros). The conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court in a final decision on 22 July 2024, served to the applicant on 30 July 2024.
QUESTION TO THE PARTIES
Does the applicant’s conviction under Article 226 of the Criminal Code (organised blockade) constitute, in the circumstances, a violation of his right to freedom of peaceful assembly under Article 11 of the Convention (compare Kotov and Others v. Russia, nos. 6142/18 and 12 others, §§ 137-151, 11 October 2022, and Chernega and Others v. Ukraine, no. 74768/10, §§ 2018-282, 18 June 2019)?