“Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Prison Over 'Calling for Government Overthrow'”
2.5 yrs
sentence
Finding · Georgia
A prison population built in two protests
Before 2024, Georgia had almost no documented political prisoners. Nearly everyone in our database was arrested since — and two-thirds of them in just two months, each following a protest the government moved to crush.
Live from the case database · as of July 6, 2026
141
arrests since 2024
of 142 dated cases — only 1 came before
65%
in just two months
Dec 2024 + Oct 2025
19
charged with “group violence”
Art. 225 — the top article
95
held in one prison
Gldani N8, Tbilisi’s main remand jail
01Why this holds
Before 2024, our database holds barely a handful of documented Georgian political prisoners. Almost everyone else — 141 of 142 dated cases — was arrested since, and the arrests did not trickle in: about 65% of them fall in just two months. The first wave came in December 2024, after the ruling party suspended EU-accession talks and nightly protests filled Tbilisi; the second in October 2025, around the local elections and the rally outside the presidential palace. This population was not built up over years. It was manufactured in two crackdowns.
Art. 225
Participation in group violence
Organizing, leading or participating in “group violence” — collective action accompanied by violence, destruction of property or resistance to the authorities. A public-order article, not a national-security law, it was the state’s primary charge against demonstrators in the December 2024 wave.
Source ↗Art. 353
Resistance to / assault on police
Resistance to, or violence against, a police officer or other representative of state authority (Art. 353 and 353¹). The second most common charge in our data, routinely paired with Article 225 to convert protest into a violent-crime prosecution.
Source ↗02The two waves, month by month
30
63
9
202420252026
Documented arrests per month from January 2024 (the 1 earlier case pre-date this window). The two solid bars — Dec 2024 + Oct 2025 — follow the EU-accession-suspension protests and the October 2025 election-period rally; 11 of 153 cases carry no arrest-date and aren’t plotted.
03How to read this honestly
- §These are cases documented in our database — primarily the Political Prisoners of Georgia roster (politpatimrebi.ge), the Gmirebi dossiers and Radio Tavisupleba — not a count of every prosecution. The roster tracks people currently held, so those released drop off; the shape here reflects who remains in detention, which if anything understates the earlier waves.
- §An arrest-date is recorded for 142 of 153 cases; the 11 without one aren’t plotted. The "65% in two months" figure is of the 142 dated cases.
- §Charge data is sparse — a criminal article is recorded for 40 of 153 cases. "Group violence" (Art. 225) is the most common among those, but the full charge mix across every detainee is not documented.
- §Both spikes track named protest events, and the day-level dates within them are spread across the weeks following each protest — not a single mass-processing date.
04The receipts · 153 cases
Every documented case behind this finding, each linking to its profile and primary source. 48 carry a verbatim quote of what the prosecution rested on.
Shota TutberidzeArt. 173¹⁶
“სასამართლომ მოქალაქე ფეისბუკზე კომენტარის გამო 2500 ლარით დააჯარიმა”
Not yet sentenced
“The charges are related to his political films and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”
1 yr
sentence
“The group was accused of participating in group violence and attempting to occupy the presidential palace.”
5 yrs
sentence
Giorgi MindadzeArt. 353
“The prosecution presented a photograph taken on November 29th, depicting the defendant holding pyrotechnics, and the testimony of a police officer, according to which the pyrotechnics thrown by Giorgi Mindadze caused him”
5 yrs
sentence
“სასამართლო პროცესზე გამოკვლეული მტკიცებულებებით დადასტურდა, რომ 2026 წლის 24 მარტს, თბილისის საქალაქო სასამართლოში, გიგა ავალიანის გარდაცვალების საქმეზე, ჯგუფური ძალადობის ორგანიზების და მასში მონაწილეობის ფაქტებზე საქმი”
3 yrs
sentence
Giorgi OkmelashviliArt. 353.1
“The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) quickly released a statement accompanied by a video recording from their own surveillance, according to which Okmelashvili was charged with assaulting a police officer”
5 yrs
sentence
“Nino Saghiridze, who had contributed to Civil.ge as a photographer in the past, was among the demonstrators recently sent to several days in custody for protesting on sidewalks”
Not yet sentenced
Andro ChichinadzeArt. 225
“The prosecutor's office accuses Chichinadze of throwing a stick at a police officer during a pro-European protest held on Rustaveli Avenue on November 29.”
2 yrs
sentence
“The accused alleged that this narcotic substance was "planted" on him by law enforcement.”
Not yet sentenced
Nikoloz JavakhishviliArt. 225
“The prosecution relies on video footage showing a young man wrapped in a brown plaid blanket and a Georgian flag, running with pyrotechnics in hand and throwing them”
2 yrs
sentence
Valeri TetrashviliArt. 225
“The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has arrested Valeri Tetrashvili, born in 1997, during a protest under Article 225, Part 2 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to participation in group violence.”
2 yrs
sentence
Onise TskhadadzeArt. 225
“The evidence presented against Onise Tskhadadze includes several video recordings. In one video, the prosecution claims that he is seen throwing small objects, a stick, and a bottle in the direction of law enforcement of”
2 yrs
sentence
Saba MeparishviliArt. 187
“Omar Okribelashvili and Saba Meparishvili, two young individuals, were arrested on May 14, 2024, during a protest against the "Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence" on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi. They were accused o”
1.5 yrs
sentence
Zviad TsetskhladzeArt. 225
“The prosecution argues that Tsetskhladze was not just a participant but an organizer. Their primary evidence is a video in which he discusses building barricades and defensive tactics. This footage, originally shared by ”
2.4 yrs
sentence
“Nodar Aroshinadze, an architectural historian, was detained on the night of December 2nd during pro-European protests in Tbilisi. He was on Rustaveli Avenue, in front of the "Marriott" hotel, where he stood facing specia”
Physical PresencePrimary source ↗
Not yet sentenced
“However, Skhvitaridze's lawyer, Irakli Chomakhashvili, argued that the prosecution only presented a 29-second video as evidence. According to the defense, this footage does not prove that the accused engaged in violence,”
2 yrs
sentence
Giorgi AkhobadzeArt. 260
“Akhobadze vehemently denies the charges, asserting that the drugs were "planted by the police."”
State FabricationPrimary source ↗
Not yet sentenced
Insaf AlievArt. 225
“However, according to Transparency International Georgia's analysis, which covers the entire case of these 8 individuals, such video material was likely obtained through illegal covert surveillance, in violation of the l”
Not yet sentenced
Mate DevidzeArt. 353
“The prosecution's video evidence shows Devidze wielding a stick and making contact with officers”
Not yet sentenced
Tornike GoshadzeArt. 225
“According to the organization's analysis, the prosecution's main "evidence" – video/audio material uploaded to social networks and internet portals – was likely obtained through covert surveillance without court authoriz”
Not yet sentenced
“Giorgi Giorgadze, a 20-year-old information technology student at Georgian Technical University and an employee at his father's gas distribution company, was detained along with eight others for participating in pro-Euro”
Physical PresencePrimary source ↗
Not yet sentenced
Saba JikiaArt. 353
“On December 1, 2024, during a protest rally on Rustaveli Avenue, Saba Jikia allegedly attacked Beka Gotiashvili, an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Special Tasks Department (GDG), near the Parliament buildi”
Not yet sentenced
Temur KatamadzeArt. 173
“First, on January 11th, at a rally near the Batumi Police Department, he was detained administratively for disobeying a lawful police order.”
Not yet sentenced
Cite this finding
Political Prisoner Watch, "A prison population built in two protests: the onset and concentration of documented political imprisonment in Georgia" (as of July 6, 2026).
https://politicalprisonerwatch.org/findings/georgia-protest-crackdown
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