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Civil.ge
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Civil.ge
19-Year-Old Protester Saba Jikia Sentenced to 4.5 Years in Jail Over ‘Assaulting' Police
Saba Jikia, a 19-year-old protester detained during the early weeks of ongoing protests, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison on charges of assaulting a police officer. Judge Tamar Mchedlishvili delivered the verdict on July 10, during a hearing with limited media coverage, just weeks after new restrictions on courtroom recording took effect . 'I have to spend my youth in prison,' Jikia told the court in his final remarks, as quoted by RFE/RL's live blog. 'But my arrest has had its advantages too: I found a new family… I met other very good boys [inmates]… I realized the value of freedom, and I'll have a great story to tell my grandchildren. I stand on the right side of history.' Jikia was arrested on December 5, 2024, a week after the non-stop protests broke out in response to Georgian Dream's announcement on halting European integration. He turned 19 on June 26. He was accused of kicking a fallen riot police officer. The charges of assaulting a police officer carry a prison sentence of four to seven years. However, lawyers had argued that the law allows courts to apply juvenile justice measures to defendants under 21, which could result in a more lenient sentence if the defendant is found guilty. The allegations are based on video evidence where a young man, whom the prosecution identifies as Jikia, is seen swinging his leg at a fallen man dressed in black and wearing a helmet, after the latter is pushed to the ground amid the confrontation with other protesters. Witness Beka Gotiashvili has testified as a riot police officer in the episode. In the audio recording from the hearing, published by Publika, Gotiashvili is heard confirming he was hit in the extremity, but denies sustaining any injuries. Defense argued it is unclear from the video whether there is actual contact between a young man, allegedly Jikia, and the fallen man, and complained they were not allowed to question an expert on the matter. According to the lawyer, Jikia couldn't identify the fallen man as a police officer, as he wore no insignia. The lawyer further claimed that it was also impossible to establish whether the fallen man was Gotiashvili, the testifying riot police officer. 'It is not established that Saba Jikia was conscious of whether the [fallen individual] was a citizen, law enforcer, or a representative of any other organization,' Guja Avsajanishvili, Jikia's lawyer, told Netgazeti in June. 'We know that there were numerous people with similar clothing at the rally.' According to Avsajanishvili, if the policeman had any identifying sign on his uniform, the uniform would have been presented by the prosecution as evidence, which was not the case. The violent police dispersal in the first weeks of the protests came amid concerns over the involvement of so-called 'men in black' — often masked individuals wearing no police uniforms or identification. Their anonymity is thought to have further enabled the impunity of those who used excessive force. The initial period also saw repeated incidents of thug violence, with masked men, so-called Titushki, who were widely believed to be linked to the ruling Georgian Dream party, attacking protesters. No police officer has been held accountable despite numerous documented abuses during dispersals. Dozens of protesters, however, remain in jail on criminal charges, convicted or awaiting their verdicts. Jikia is the sixth protester to be convicted among those arrested since November 2024. Earlier convictions include those of Giorgi Mindadze , Mate Devidze , Denis Kulanin, Daniel Mumladze, and Guram Khutashvili , all of whom were sentenced to years in jail. Seven more remain in prison after being convicted over their involvement in the spring 2024 protests against the foreign agents law, including Omar Okribelashvili, Saba Meparishvili, and Pridon Bubuteishvili, who were convicted in January, Davit Koldari, Giorgi Kuchuashvili, and Giorgi Okmelashvili , who were convicted in February , as well as Irakli Megvinetukhutsesi, convicted in December. Eight individuals, including six active opposition politicians, were recently sentenced to prison terms of several months for defying the Georgian Dream investigative commission. , a recently created civic platform, currently lists 66 persons who were jailed in 2024-2025 and are considered political prisoners. Also Read:
OC Media
09-07-2025
- Politics
- OC Media
Georgia's Maritime Transport Agency head sacked amid gunshot scandal
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member The director of Georgia's Maritime Transport Agency, Aleksi Akhvlediani, has been fired after the former head of Adjara, Tornike Rizhvadze, was shot in the chest using what appeared to be Akhvlediani's gun. Akhvlediani had served as the agency's director since May 2023. On Monday, the Georgian police launched an investigation into the incident involving the two officials, including on charges of negligent storage of a firearm, later confirming to local media that Akhvlediani had been detained on that charge. A Tbilisi court released Akhvlediani on ₾30,000 ($11,000) bail the following day. Tornike Rizhvadze was admitted with a gunshot wound to a local hospital in the town of Sagarejo, in the eastern Kakheti Region, on Monday morning and given emergency medical care. The incident reportedly took place at a house belonging to Akhvlediani's mother. Opposition-leaning channel TV Pirveli reported that Rizhvadze had been staying there with Akhvlediani for several days. Following the incident, pro-government media outlets asserted that Rizhvadze had left a suicide note in which he attributed his alleged suicide attempt to corruption charges against him and appealed to the ruling party to protect his family. However, there has been widespread scepticism of this version of events from government critics. Advertisement On Wednesday, Rizhvadze was transferred from the First University Clinic in Tbilisi to Turkey for further treatment. The online media outlet Publika cited the head of the First University Clinic, as saying he was transferred upon his family's request. 'He was transferred at around 2:00. The health condition was stable but serious — the patient was on a ventilator, although with improved parameters', Lali Turdzeladze told Publika.
OC Media
09-07-2025
- Politics
- OC Media
Sanctioned deputy head of Georgian Police's Special Tasks Department resigns
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Mileri Lagazauri, the deputy head of the controversial Special Tasks Department of Georgia's Interior Ministry, has resigned. The ministry told Publika and other media outlets on Tuesday that Lagazauri had personally made the decision to resign. The Special Tasks Department manages Georgia's riot police, which have come under increased scrutiny for their violent tactics used against demonstrators. Publika and other media outlets did not specify the reasons for his resignation. Both Lagazauri and the former head of the department, Zviad 'Khareba' Kharazishvili, were sanctioned by the US in September 2024 for their role in suppressing protests. They have also been sanctioned by the UK, the Baltic states, and Czechia. In June 2025, Kharazishvili resigned from his position amidst an ongoing reshuffle of personnel at the Interior Ministry. He was replaced by Roman Kartsivadze. The government has undertaken numerous personnel changes in recent months. Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze, Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili and Education Minister Giorgi Tsuladze have all stepped down from their positions. The media outlet Netgazeti found that six out of the nine Georgian officials sanctioned by the US and the UK in recent months have either since resigned or been demoted.
OC Media
04-07-2025
- Politics
- OC Media
How the media (cannot) cover trials in Georgia
Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member It's been a week since yet another restriction for Georgian media came into force: photos, videos, and audio recordings are no longer allowed inside courtrooms, the court building, or even the courtyard. The new regulation does say that the High Council of Justice is entitled to grant permission after individual appeals from reporters, but so far, all appeals have been left unanswered — therefore, it's been a week without any quality content from the important trials of detained protesters. According to local civil rights groups, over 65 people have been arrested during the ongoing anti-government protests, students, doctors, teachers, and politicians among them. Interest towards their cases are very high. Many videos and photos from the trials have often gone viral, such as when a key witness for the prosecution failed to recognise the person he allegedly arrested and searched in December. When the defence lawyer asked the witness if the person he had detained was in court that day, the witness replied, 'Yes, he's right there'. Yet Valeri Tetrashvili, the defendant, had not attended that day's hearing. This mistake did not show the court in a good light, and there have been many such cases. Inconsistencies in the testimonies of witnesses, a lack of evidence, the emotions of defendants and their family members — all of these have been making Georgian Dream look bad. As a solution, the ruling party got rid of media presence in a matter of days. On Thursday, there were three important trials, including a verdict for 21-year-old Giorgi Mindadze, a medical student accused of firing fireworks during the ongoing protests on Rustaveli Avenue. That day, I went to see what I could get from court with these new regulations. It was the first day in maybe eight months I left home without a camera, even a small one, as if you have one, you are not allowed into the court building at all. Despite not carrying any filming equipment, I was unable to get into any of the three trials. Despite high public interest, the hearings are held in smaller courtrooms only capable of holding 35-40 people, so sometimes even family members cannot get in. At the hearing of 19-year-old Saba Jikia, charged with attacking a police officer, around 40 people managed to get in, including an artist from online media outlet Publika, which had been very active in covering all these trials prior to the new regulations. 'Let the artist in, let the artist in', we heard in the hall, instead of the previous call: 'Let the cameras in'. Defendant Saba Jikia and Judge Tamar Mchedlishvili. Illustration: Nika Khabeishvili/Publika. In the middle of the hearing, a Publika journalist brought the first sketch from the hearing into the hall and asked his colleague and me to help digitilise the drawing. To avoid the court bailiff's anger over taking photos even with phones in the hall, we had to go to the bathroom instead. The highest interest was for Mindadze's verdict. Hundreds came to support him and his mother, who also had a birthday that same day. The hall was already full an hour before the trial was set to begin, and the court bailiff once again went on using violence to kick people out. Two attendees required an ambulance, one of whom was then hospitalised as a result of the violence that day. Despite the restrictions, I managed to get a video as the high public interest seemed important. Mindadze was ultimately sentenced to five years in prison, which sparked anger among his supporters who were kicked out. The court bailiff and police then used force to kick everyone out from the courtyard too, which some of us again filmed despite restrictions. Violation of the new media ban is punishable by a fine of up to ₾2,500 ($900) or imprisonment of up to twelve days. We will see if they will use such punishment in the following weeks against us. Meanwhile, we will continue to bring the important stories to our audiences by all means possible.
