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Day: June 5, 2026
Over a dozen defendants charged in connection with the October 4, 2025, election-day unrest are expected to be released from custody with suspended sentences after reaching plea agreements in two separate proceedings, with deals yet to be approved by courts.
Fourteen out of fifteen defendants who have agreed to a deal have been in pretrial custody, while one more has been released on bail. They had been charged with participation in group violence and/or attempted seizure of strategic buildings.
The first group, seven of the twelve defendants in the consolidated proceedings, accepted plea agreements with prosecutors during the June 2 hearing, with prosecutors announcing that they pleaded guilty and are expected to receive three-year suspended sentences, allowing them to walk free if the court approves the deal.
The defendants include Aleksandre Khabeishvili, Beka Kelekhsashvili, Giorgi Muladze, Mamuka Labuchidze, Guriel Kardava, Avtandil Surmanidze, and Temur Kurtsikidze. All of them had been sent to pre-trial detention.
The remaining five defendants in the same group — Vakhtang Pitskhelauri, Abo Naveriani, Anton Uperi, Nana Sanderi, and Mariam Mekantsishvili — continue to contest the charges, making them ineligible for a similar deal. Mekantsishvili has been released on bail, while Uperi has been charged in absentia.
“At this stage, seven of the twelve defendants admit and regret the acts with which they have been charged,” prosecutor Lasha Tskvitaria told the media on June 2. “The prosecution expressed its readiness and consent to conclude plea agreements with them.”
Another round of plea deals was reported after a June 5 hearing involving a group of 15 defendants, eight of whom reportedly pleaded guilty and agreed to plea bargains that would also result in three-year suspended sentences, pending court approval. The eight defendants include Aleksandre Gogoladze, Sulkhan Abralava, Gocha Katashvili, Davit Ghurtskaia, Jandri Tirkia, Ramaz Jorbenadze, and Genadi Kelikhashvili, who are expected to be released from custody following court approval of the agreements, as well as Eva Shashiashvili, who had already been released on bail on New Year’s Eve over health concerns.
“During today’s court hearing, eight defendants fully admitted the charges brought against them, pleaded guilty, and also accepted the evidence as indisputable,” prosecutor Roin Khintibidze told reporters following the hearing. He said the criminal case against the eight defendants had been separated from the broader proceedings for the purpose of concluding plea agreements.
Plea agreements are not being offered at this stage to seven other defendants in the case, including Giorgi Chakhunashvili, Ia Darakhvelidze, Zakro Albutashvili, Davit Zhghenti, Konstantine Kokaia, Kakhaber Mzhavanadze and Davit Sturua, who, according to the prosecutor, do not admit the charges against them. Khintibidze added that prosecutors remain open to negotiating plea agreements with other defendants who acknowledge the charges and admit guilt.
“If they change their position, genuinely admit the charges, and acknowledge guilt in relation to the entire indictment, namely participation in group violence and the attempted seizure of the presidential residence, then, of course, despite their refusal today, we are prepared to consider the issue of a plea agreement with them as well,” he noted.
The deals come amid what appears to be a gradual shift away from the more uncompromising approach seen in earlier opposition protest-related trials, where defendants refused to admit guilt, a prerequisite for plea bargains, or cooperate with authorities in any other way. Critics of the government have also pointed to a lack of trust in the judiciary and prosecutors to honor such agreements, citing a previous case in which prosecutors rejected a plea deal after defendants had pleaded guilty.
It also follows a campaign to secure the release of those imprisoned in such trials through possible pardons, with Georgian Dream officials indicating that such a possibility would be considered only if the detainees pleaded guilty and expressed remorse.
October 4 Unrest and Trials
Unrest erupted on October 4, 2025, the day of the partially boycotted municipal elections, after a group of protesters, following a call from organizers of a “peaceful revolution” rally, attempted to occupy the presidential palace in Tbilisi and were repelled by police. Up to 60 people, including rally organizers, were subsequently charged in connection with the events, with most placed in pretrial detention. Georgian Dream officials have described the events as a foreign-orchestrated coup attempt.
The court handed down the first multi-year prison sentences against a group of ten people, including politicians and activists, on May 7. Those convicted included opera singer and activist Paata Burchuladze, United National Movement members Murtaz Zodelava and Irakli Nadiradze, retired Colonel Lasha Beridze, and Strategy Aghmashenebeli member Paata Manjgaladze.
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Giorgi Rukhadze, founder of the Strategic Analysis Center, believes that the Georgian authorities are trying to repair relations with the United States in an effort to have sanctions lifted from Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party
Rukhadze also argued that Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze had insulted Republican Congressman Joe Wilson and that such “audacity” would have consequences.
“Georgia is not a schoolchild who can be held back a year and told to improve. Georgia is a dignified sovereign state, and we have made that clear everywhere. If anything has damaged US-Georgian relations in recent years, it is entirely the fault of the previous administration. Joe Wilson claimed that Georgia was being used to circumvent sanctions on Iran. What could be more disgraceful than that?” Kobakhidze said.
He also categorically rejected US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement that Tbilisi had sought guidance from Washington on how to restore relations between the two countries.
Giorgi Rukhadze said:
“What Mr Rubio said indicates that Georgian Dream is trying to somehow repair relations with the United States. Their main objective is to have sanctions lifted from Ivanishvili. As is often the case with Georgian Dream, they have probably made certain promises. They have likely signalled a willingness to take some concerns into account and make concessions in certain areas.
Mr Rubio said, ‘if they change their behaviour’. He was not talking about Georgia; he was talking about Georgian Dream. Georgia is not a schoolchild being held back a year. Georgian Dream is the one that has been held back and is now trying to retake the exam. That is what this is about.
Kobakhidze insulted Joe Wilson when he told journalists that they ‘should not stoop to Wilson’s level’. He humiliated the man, even though, as a political figure, Kobakhidze is a worm compared with Joe Wilson. Kobakhidze is nobody, whereas Joe Wilson is a very influential politician. He has been a member of Congress for many years and is close to Trump. I do not think Kobakhidze will get away with such audacity.”
Georgia seeks to repair relations with the US