In the case of Chkhartishvili v. Georgia the Court held that there had been a violation of the freedom of assembly read in the light of the freedom of expression.

The case concerned the applicant’s arrest at a demonstration in Tbilisi for disobeying police orders to move off the road and throwing beans at the police. The applicant was brought before a judge and found guilty of insulting and disobeying lawful police orders. He was sentenced to eight days’ administrative detention.

The Court found that the applicant had been given a custodial sentence mainly because of the way he had expressed his views, rather than for disobeying police orders to move off the road and that, in the absence of appropriate reasoning, a custodial sanction for the applicant’s non-violent conduct had not been justified.

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