Georgia: Release renowned poet and translator Zviad Ratiani
Image Credit: Jelger Groeneveld
‘Zviad Ratiani is facing overly harsh criminal punishments on account of his dissenting views. We continue to stand with the brave people of Georgia as the authorities persist in clamping down on fundamental rights at an alarming speed’, said Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee.
1 July 2025: The Georgian authorities must release acclaimed poet and translator Zviad Ratiani from pre-trial detention and uphold his right to a fair trial, PEN International and PEN Georgia said today. Ratiani faces up to seven years in prison on grossly disproportionate charges of assaulting a police officer.
Zviad Ratiani, one of Georgia’s most renowned poet and translator, was detained by police on 23 June 2025 after he slapped a police officer while taking part in a protest outside parliament in Tbilisi. The case comes against the backdrop of a mounting human rights crisis in Georgia and relentless persecution of independent voices, including Ratiani.
Ratiani has been charged under Article 353(1) of the Georgian Criminal Code (Assault on a police officer, a special penitentiary service employee, or other representative of the government or public institution), which carries between four and seven years in prison. On 25 June 2025, the Tbilisi City Court placed Ratiani in pre-trial detention and sent him to Gldani prison in Tbilisi, where he remained in solitary confinement at the time of writing. His next hearing has been set for 14 August. PEN International and PEN Georgia reviewed video footage of the incident, which showed the slap posed no harm to the police officer involved – who sustained no injuries. Over 200 members of the literary community have signed a statement by PEN Georgia and the Georgian Book Association in solidarity with Ratiani.
On 29 November 2024, PEN Georgia documented the brutal beating of Ratiani by police in Tbilisi. Ratiani – who suffered serious injuries, including fractures to his nose and back – 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 also led to his arrest.
Pro-European, anti-government protests that erupted in Georgia last year continue to be met with police violence, including acts of torture and other ill-treatment, with complete impunity. Journalists reported being deliberately targeted by security forces, with several brutally attacked and requiring hospitalisation. The Georgian authorities have increasingly used hooliganism and assault charges to crack down on peaceful protesters, with human rights groups documenting how legal proceedings have flouted fair trial standards.
Meanwhile, the Georgian authorities continue to enact, with alarming speed sweeping and repressive legislative reforms that drastically restrict the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, and to target individuals in the cultural sphere who dare express views at odds with the government’s line. PEN International and PEN Georgia reiterate calls on the Georgian authorities to abide by their national and international obligations and to fully uphold fundamental rights.
Additional information
Born on 5 January 1971, Zviad Ratiani is an award-winning 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 Paul Celan. His poems have been translated into scores of languages, including English, German, French, Russian, Azerbaijani, Ukrainian, and Latvian. 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).
Prominent Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli remains unjustly held in pre-trial detention since her arrest in January 2025. She faces up to seven years in prison on grossly disproportionate charges of assaulting a police officer if convicted. Suffering from keratoconus, a degenerative eye condition, she was said to be losing her eyesight in detention. PEN International and PEN Georgia call once again for her release.
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