Court arrests Levan Khabeishvili

One of the leaders of the United National Movement, Levan Khabeishvili, has been placed under arrest; in addition to the article on bribery, the politician has been charged with calling for the overthrow of the government.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, one of the leaders of the United National Movement, Levan Khabeishvili, has been detained under the article on bribery; the reason was the reward he promised to security forces who refused to carry out the government's orders. The chairman of the party's political council, Murtaz Zodelava, has been detained for resisting security forces.

The Tbilisi City Court has chosen detention as a preventive measure for the former chairman of the United National Movement Levan Khabeishvili, and agreed to release the head of the party's political council, former Prosecutor General of Georgia Murtaza Zodelava, who was detained with him, on bail of 25 thousand lari (about 9,315 US dollars), the agency "Novosti Gruzia" reported today.

Levan Khabeishvili has been charged with calling for the overthrow of the government. Khabeishvili's defense demanded that Judge Pikria Sikturashvili be recused, citing a conflict of interest. The fact is that it was Sikturashvili who issued the warrant for the politician's detention. The basis for this was statements by several Interior Ministry employees who reported that they perceived Khabeishvili's public offer of a $200,000 reward for security officials who refuse to follow orders from their superiors as an "insult" and "bribery," the report says.

The motion to challenge him was not granted. Oppositionist Khabeishvili recalled how brutally he was beaten during his arrest at an anti-government rally a year ago, and called attempts to accuse him of bribery and a coup d'etat part of pro-government propaganda.

The National Movement links the arrest of fellow party members to preparations for a protest on October 4, the day of local elections that the UNM and its allies are boycotting. Khabeishvili himself positioned the rally as the beginning of a “peaceful revolution” and “the day of Georgia’s liberation.”

Earlier, eight opposition parties announced a boycott of the municipal elections scheduled for October 4. In July, President Mikheil Kavelashvili said he was prepared to pardon opposition leaders convicted of failing to appear at parliamentary commission meetings in exchange for their participation in municipal elections. After this, the Lelo - Strong Georgia coalition renounced its boycott of the elections.

Zodelava will be transferred to one of the penitentiary institutions, and Khabeishvili - to Rustavi Penitentiary Institution No. 12. Murtaz Zodelava will leave the institution after paying the amount, Interpressnews reported.

The Caucasian Knot collected materials about the parliamentary elections and the protests that followed them on the page "Elections in Georgia-2024".