Those Accused of Violence at Protests in Georgia Remain in Custody

A court in Tbilisi refused to release 11 defendants in a case of violence at protests. Ukrainian citizen Sergei Kukharchuk, who was arrested among these people, stopped his hunger strike in a detention center.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, on April 2, the Tbilisi City Court began considering the case of 11 people detained at the scene of the protests. The accused - actor Andro Chichinadze, stand-up comedian Onise Tskhadadze, as well as Guram Mirtskhulava, Luka Jabua, Jano Archaya, Valeri Tetreshvili, Giorgi Terishvili, Irakli Kerashvili, Revaz Kiknadze, Ruslan Sivakov and Sergei Kukharchuk - did not admit guilt and insist that they did not know each other before their arrest in the case of group violence at protests (Part 2 of Article 225 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which provides for up to six years in prison).

The main thing about the persecution of protesters in Georgia

On July 31, Tbilisi City Court Judge Nino Galustashvili rejected the lawyers' motions to soften Andro's preventive measure Chichinadze, Onise Tskhadadze and nine others arrested in the case of violence at protests, Interpressnews reports.

At the court hearing, the lawyers of 10 defendants asked to cancel the decision to arrest their clients or release their bail, only lawyer Andro Chichinadze demanded the unconditional release of his client.

The defense explained to the court that there is no direct evidence in the case of their clients' participation in group violence during the protests. In addition, according to them, the investigation did not establish that the defendants are connected with the organizers of the protest or with each other. However, after a half-hour break, the judge announced that all defendants remain in custody, the agency writes.

Sergey Kukharchuk has ended his hunger strike, activist Marina Meskhi reported on Facebook* on the evening of July 30, and her publication was noticed by the Tbilisi life Telegram channel.

Kukharchuk was visited in prison by an employee of the Public Defender's Office

"Ukrainian citizen Sergey Kukharchuk called me from prison. Today, an employee of the Public Defender's Office visited Sergey Kukharchuk in prison, for which I would like to thank the Public Defender of Georgia. Sergey Kukharchuk has ended his hunger strike. He has not yet called Ukraine. The days for calling abroad are Tuesday and Friday. I really hope that he will be able to call Ukraine on Friday," Meskhi's publication says.

Recall that on November 28, 2024, the European Parliament refused recognize the results of the parliamentary elections in Georgia and called for sanctions against the leaders of the Georgian Dream. On the same day, the Prime Minister announced that Georgia would refuse to negotiate on joining the European Union until the end of 2028. Following this statement, protests began in the country.

Protesters take to the streets of the Georgian parliament every day and block traffic on Rustaveli Avenue, demanding the release of all arrested supporters of European integration and the appointment of new parliamentary elections. On July 31, on the 246th day of continuous protests, protesters again blocked the avenue.

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