Zviad RATIANI
On 9 October 2025, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced renowned poet and translator Zviad Ratiani to a grossly disproportionate two years in prison for ‘resistance, threat, or violence against a public official’ under Article 353.1 of the Georgian Criminal Code. Ratiani was detained on 23 June 2025 after he slapped a police officer while taking part in a protest outside parliament, and initially faced up to seven years in prison for ‘assaulting a police officer’. PEN International and PEN Georgia reviewed video footage of the incident, which showed the slap was light and that the police officer involved sustained no injuries. Members of the literary community in Georgia rallied in support of Ratiani, whose requests for release on bail were all denied.
At his trial, Ratiani reported being denied access to writing materials in prison, unlike other detainees. His case highlights broader concerns about politically-motivated prosecutions in Georgia, where the authorities’ onslaught on independent voices showed no sign of abating by the end of the year.
Ratiani has been repeatedly targeted by state and non-state actors in recent years. PEN Georgia documented the 29 November 2024 brutal beating of Ratiani by police in Tbilisi. Ratiani suffered serious injuries, including fractures to his nose and back. He was sentenced to eight days of administrative detention by the Tbilisi City Court on 2 December 2024 on alleged charges of petty hooliganism and disobeying lawful police orders (Articles 166 and 172 of the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia). After his release, Ratiani was attacked and beaten again outside his home by unknown individuals. He had previously lived in exile in Austria following a violent incident with the police in 2017, which led to his arrest.
Born on 5 January 1971, Zviad Ratiani is an award-winning and widely-translated Georgian poet and translator. He has published five poetry collections and worked on translations of English and German poetry, including works by T. S. Eliot, E. Pound, R. Frost, M. Rilke and P. Celan. He was awarded the Literary Award SABA in 2010 for best poetry collection (The Negative), and the Literary prize LITERA in 2016, also for best poetry collection (Only You Are Allowed).