21:45, 12 September 2025

Student Megi Diasamidze released on bail

Megi Diasamidze after her release. Photo: Mariam Kavshbaia / Publika

A court in Tbilisi has released on bail 23-year-old Megi Diasamidze, accused of damaging a Georgian Dream election banner during a protest. The money for her bail was raised by protesters.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, on September 8, the 285th day of daily protests, journalists and activists were attacked by Georgian Dream supporters at the party's election headquarters in Tbilisi. On September 10, police reported that student Megi (Irma) Diasamidze had been detained on charges of damaging the ruling party's election banners. At the protests on September 11, protesters demanded her release.

The girl is charged under the article on destruction or damage of someone else's property (Article 187 of the Criminal Code of Georgia), which provides for up to three years in prison. During the pre-election period, liability for damaging a candidate's posters is regulated not by the Criminal Code, but by the Electoral Code, which only provides for a fine of up to a thousand lari (about 370 US dollars), lawyers said. According to them, the banner cannot even be considered damaged: the student's inscription was "erased in a few minutes" by the staff of the Georgian Dream headquarters.

A judge of the Tbilisi City Court today ruled to release Diasamidze on bail of 2,000 lari (about 750 US dollars).

The prosecutor insisted that bail be posted today, but the judge rejected the motion. In support of his position, the prosecutor stated that Megi Diasamidze "is prone to breaking the law during rallies and demonstrations."

“I believe that the preventive measure should not have been applied at all, so we, as lawyers, are naturally unhappy with this decision. However, given the current situation, when the court ignores any evidence, and political orders play a key role, perhaps this outcome is positive, because Megi is free, not in prison,” Publika quotes Diasamidze’s lawyer Shota Tutberidze as saying.

The entire amount to pay Diasamidze’s bail has already been collected by citizens participating in the protests with her, the publication notes.

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze commented on the Diasamidze case on September 11, calling the student a "Nazi activist" and a "titushka," the Tbilisi_life channel noted. "Titushkas" are pro-government provocateurs who attack protesters, but Georgian Dream representatives decided to use the word to refer to oppositionists. The same term was used by the head of the Georgian Dream parliamentary faction, Shalva Papuashvili, commenting on the protests at the party's election headquarters.

"Titushki, supported by the German ambassador, attacked the Georgian Dream headquarters in Tbilisi for the third time today with fascist chants," he wrote on a social network on September 8. The EU Delegation to Georgia expressed solidarity with German Ambassador Peter Fischer, calling Papuashvili's statement disinformation about the diplomat's activities, JAM-news reported in a publication dated September 11.

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Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/415358