Tbilisi protester sentenced to 4.5 years in prison
Anzor Kvaratskhelia, accused of attacking police officers, was found guilty by the court today. A rally in support of the activist was held outside the courthouse.
As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, on July 10, a court in Tbilisi sentenced 19-year-old protester Saba Jikia to 4.5 years in prison for kicking a special forces officer, although the victim claimed that he was not injured.
On the same day, protesters in Tbilisi and other cities expressed their indignation at the harsh sentence handed down to Saba Jikia today. In Batumi, activists held a rally near the Adjara government building with posters in his support, and in Zugdidi, the activist's hometown, a rally was held with his portraits.
The Tbilisi City Court sentenced 25-year-old Anzor Kvaratskhelia to 4 years and 6 months in prison.
The activist was detained on December 5, 2024. The prosecutor's office accused him of throwing a Molotov cocktail at special forces officers, which, according to the department, is an attack on a police officer. Kvaratskhelia was charged under the first part of Article 353 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which provides for a punishment of 4 to 7 years in prison. At the same time, in the Kvaratskhelia case, there were no physically injured police officers, the Tbilisi Life Telegram channel indicated.
In turn, Judge Jvebe Nachkebia emphasized that the verdict is fully consistent with the standards of the Supreme Court. "This was a difficult case, which must be answered in the verdict," the Sova publication quotes the judge as saying.
After the verdict was announced, Anri Kvaratskhelia said: "I will be released soon, everyone will have to answer for everything." Before that, he used his right to the last word and asked his friends and relatives to take care of his mother. "Thank you for coming to my trials. It does not matter to me how many years you sentence me, Mr. Judge, based on the fact that I am very proud to have stood by my country. My case is fabricated, I do not understand the beginning or the end, what I am accused of and why," Publika quotes him as saying.
During the announcement of the verdict, several members of the "300 Women" movement held a performance outside the city court building.
“We must use all possible means to prevent this from becoming the norm: neither unfair trials, nor, even more so, sentences to years of imprisonment for innocent people,” Natia Bukia, one of the protesters, told the publication.
Since November 28, 2024, protesters in Tbilisi have been holding daily rallies outside the Georgian Parliament and blocking traffic along Rustaveli Avenue, demanding the release of all arrested supporters of European integration and the appointment of new parliamentary elections.
The Caucasian Knot published a report entitled “The Main Thing About the Persecution of Protesters in Georgia.” The Caucasian Knot collected materials about the parliamentary elections and the protests that followed them on the page “The Main Thing About the Persecution of Protesters in Georgia.” href="https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/category/Georgia-elections-2024">Elections in Georgia-2024".