India, July 24 -- Amnesty International has criticised the jailing of a Georgian journalist and the reported assault on a comedian over political satire, saying the incidents reflect an escalating crackdown on freedom of expression and criticism of public officials in the country.
Journalist jailed over satirical posts
Amnesty International said Tbilisi City Court sentenced journalist and Formula TV presenter Vakho Sanaia to 14 days of administrative detention on July 22 over satirical Facebook posts targeting Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and Member of Parliament Vladimir Bozhadze. Sanaia had earlier been fined 6,000 Georgian lari after one of the posts was found to contain insulting language. The rights group argued that the pun...