Two Rustaveli Avenue Protesters Sentenced to One Year in Prison
Protesters Tornike Toshkhua and Mindia Shervashidze were each sentenced to one year in prison after being found guilty of group violence in an incident involving the late football player and Georgian Dream supporter Beka Gotsiridze. Tbilisi City Court Judge Elene Goguadze delivered the verdict on April 1.
The jail sentence comes after about eight months of court hearings, during which the defendants remained in custody, leaving them with less than five months still to serve.
Toshkhua and Shervashidze were arrested on August 16 over an August 1 incident on Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue in front of Parliament, where anti-government demonstrators have been gathering daily as part of nonstop protests since November 2024.
The incident involved Beka Gotsiridze, a late former football player in Georgia’s national team and an open supporter of the ruling Georgian Dream party, with authorities claiming that the two protesters attacked him during a nightly rally on Rustaveli Avenue. Protesters and bystanders allege that Gotsiridze provoked the altercation and had even tried to pull out a knife, which he dropped as he fell. According to activists, Gotsiridze had frequently insulted protesters on social media.
Gotsiridze died suddenly in February at the age of 37.
Critics denounced the arrests of protesters as selective justice, with police and courts moving harshly against activists while showing leniency toward ruling party-aligned attackers, often referred to as “titushki.”
When questioned by the court in December, Gotsiridze stated he had no “interest” in detaining the activists and would have welcomed their release on bail, according to Publika. He also confirmed that he had a knife on him during the incident, but strongly denied attempting to draw it, saying it had fallen out of his pocket after he fell during the physical altercation.
More than a hundred are estimated to be remaining in jail in Georgia, convicted or on trial in protest-related criminal cases since the 2024 demonstrations.
Also Read:
- 03/09/2025 – 11 Protesters Jailed for Two Years Each on Charges of ‘Disrupting Public Order’ as Group
- 02/09/2025 – Tbilisi Court Jails Group of Eight Protesters over ‘Disrupting Public Order’
- 31/01/2025 – TI-Georgia Report Alleges Fabricated Charges and Political Persecution of Activist