Dissident Spotlight: Ucha Abashidze
Ucha Abashidze received a five-year prison sentence for blogging about his opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In 2024, Georgian police arrested Ucha Abashidze, a blogger and YouTuber who spoke out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Georgia’s government is aligned with Putin’s Russia, so Abashidze’s support for Ukraine was dangerous to voice, even in a different country than the aggressor.
After initially investigating him for conducting cyber attacks against government websites, the police charged him with “illegal acquisition and storage of private life secrets and illegal purchase and storage of firearms and ammunition.” The courts alleged that Abashidze and his wife, Mariam Iashvili, filmed public officials without their consent and that the couple was stockpiling guns and ammunition.
Both charges were nonsense, as Abashidze’s supporters protesting his arrest outside his apartment, and likely the courthouse, suspected. But the absurdity was the part of the point. Presenting a laughable case in court only to have the charges stick anyway is part of the shocking power of an authoritarian government.
It’s a lesson worth bearing in mind in the wake of a recent episode in the United States.
Absurdity is the Point
On May 15, just over a year after Abashidze and Iashvili’s arrests, former FBI Director James Comey posted an Instagram picture of seashells that looked like the numbers 8647. Allies in the Trump administration believed that instead of posting an innocent picture from the beach, Comey had posted a call to assassinate Donald Trump — literally “86” the 47th president of the United States.
The current FBI Director, Kash Patel, and Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, were among those who accused Comey of stoking violence and announcing an investigation into him and his post.
This case may seem ridiculous, because it is. But it also echoes the bizarre and false claims made against Abashidze and Iashvili in Georgia. The United States has a court system that can adjudicate outlandish claims and rebuke its country’s leader, but Georgia lacks those safeguards.
Still, Americans should feel wary of a leader so comfortable endorsing conspiracy theories about false threats to his administration or himself. Even if the courts back Comey, Secret Service investigations and ongoing legal threats remain damaging to anyone unfortunate enough to invoke Trump’s arbitrary ire.