“Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Prison Over 'Calling for Government Overthrow'”
2.5 yrs
sentence
Finding · Georgia
Two waves, two generations
Georgia's December 2024 crackdown filled the jails with twenty-somethings from the barricades. The October 2025 wave came for their parents' generation — party leaders, teachers, a 71-year-old opera star. Same state, same crackdown, a different target.
Live from the case database · as of July 6, 2026
28 → 46
median age, wave to wave
Dec 2024 vs Oct 2025
17
aged 50+ in the Oct 2025 wave
vs 5 in Dec 2024
71
oldest arrested (yrs)
Oct 2025 wave — vs 58 in the first
22 vs 0
torture or beatings reported
Dec 2024 vs Oct 2025 — see caveats
01Why this holds
The December 2024 wave was a street crackdown: police clearing the pro-EU barricades on Rustaveli Avenue and filling remand cells with the generation that built them — students, a DJ, a comedian, a medical student, median age 28. The October 2025 wave was something else. Around the local elections and the rally outside the presidential palace, the arrests reached the opposition's older layer — party chairmen, a teacher, the 71-year-old opera singer Paata Burchuladze — and the median age jumped to 46. Every one of the oldest people in our Georgian data was arrested in the second wave. The first crackdown punished who showed up; the second looked more like a decapitation — removing the people who could lead what comes next.
02Who each wave took, by age
under 25
3/12 · 25%
25–34
6/22 · 27%
35–49
19/21 · 90%
50–64
13/18 · 72%
65 and over
4/4 · 100%
Each bar splits that age band between the two waves; the red share is the October 2025 wave. Across all 77 wave cases with a recorded age, 58% belong to the second wave (the baseline line) — but the older the band, the more completely it belongs to October 2025.
03What the cases rest on
Unknown
84 · 77%
Physical Presence
13 · 12%
Device Evidence
7 · 6%
State Fabrication
4 · 4%
Online Speech
1 · 1%
04How 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 arrest. The roster tracks people currently held, so those released drop off; both waves are read from who remains in detention.
- §The two windows (2024-11 to 2025-02, and 2025-09 to 2025-12) hold 38 and 71 cases; 46 of 155 documented Georgian cases fall outside them or carry no arrest-date and are not part of this comparison.
- §An age is recorded for 32 of 38 first-wave and 45 of 71 second-wave cases; the medians and the age bands are computed over those. If the sources record ages unevenly — say, more often for prominent older detainees — the contrast could be sharper here than in reality.
- §The torture figure counts cases where the source reports torture or beatings (22 in the first wave, 0 in the second). The December 2024 beatings were widely documented at the point of detention; the asymmetry may partly reflect what each wave's coverage recorded, not a measured difference in treatment.
05The receipts · 109 cases
Every documented case behind this finding, each linking to its profile and primary source. 25 carry a verbatim quote of what the prosecution rested on.
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
“The accused alleged that this narcotic substance was "planted" on him by law enforcement.”
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
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
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
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
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
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
“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
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
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
Irakli KerashviliArt. 225
“The only evidence against him is a single photograph extracted from general protest footage, which was used to identify him. However, according to his lawyer, this only proves that Irakli Kerashvili was present at the pr”
Not yet sentenced
Davit LomidzeArt. 353
“Davit Lomidze, a 53-year-old man, was arrested on December 1, 2024, during a protest in front of the Parliament.”
Not yet sentenced
“Video footage captured on November 30th shows police officers brutally beating Maisashvili.”
Not yet sentenced
Mzia AmaghlobeliArt. 333
“According to the prosecution, Amaglobeli slapped Dgebadze in the face.”
Not yet sentenced
Luka JabuaArt. 225
“Additionally, after his arrest and a two-hour search of his home, only his phone, glasses, and an EU flag were seized.”
Not yet sentenced
Irakli MiminoshviliArt. 225
“The prosecution, led by Vaja Todua and Shmagi Gobejishvili, presented video evidence purporting to show Miminoshvili throwing objects at police.”
Not yet sentenced
“Де факто усафеткобис самсахурис ганцхадебит, хизанишвилма апхазетши дислоциребул ерт-ерт русул сасазгро сагушагос გადაуღo ვიდეო, რისთვისაც ფულადი ანაზღაურება მიიღო”
6.8 yrs
sentence
“The prosecutor told Radio Liberty: 'Cloth wicks were wrapped around the bottles, which were soaked in flammable liquid; the expert determined that it was an incendiary device.'”
Not yet sentenced
Zurab MenteshashviliArt. 347
“Menteshashvili was first detained on October 24, 2025, under administrative procedures for 'blocking the road' during ongoing anti-government protests on Tbilisi's Rustaveli Avenue in front of parliament. He was sent to ”
9 mo
sentence
Jano ArchaiaArt. 225
“When prosecutor Vazha Todua claimed that the defendants appeared together in video footage from the protest, Archaia reacted angrily, demanding that the prosecution present actual evidence: 'Where do I appear? Where do I”
Not yet sentenced
Cite this finding
Political Prisoner Watch, "Two waves, two generations: the age structure of Georgia's December 2024 and October 2025 arrest waves" (as of July 6, 2026).
https://politicalprisonerwatch.org/findings/georgia-two-generations
More findings · Georgia