First Sentences Handed Down in October 4 Trials Against Rally Organizers, Protesters
The court handed down the first prison sentences against a group of ten people tried over the October 4, 2025, election-day unrest, including prominent political figures who organized the rally that grew into tensions at the presidential palace in what Georgian officials would later describe as a foreign-orchestrated coup attempt.
Among those found guilty by Tbilisi City Court Judge Irakli Khuskivadze and given seven-year prison sentences each are Paata Burchuladze, the prominent opera singer and activist who organized the rally; Murtaz Zodelava and Irakli Nadiradze of the opposition United National Movement, both identified as rally organizers; retired Colonel Lasha Beridze; and Paata Manjgaladze of the opposition Strategy Aghmashenebeli, who denied being among the organizers.
Burchuladze, Zodelava, and Nadiradze had been charged with “attempted seizure or blockade of strategic and particularly important facilities, committed by a group” (part 2 of Article 222), “organization and leadership of group violence” (part 1 of Article 225), and “incitement to change the constitutional order of Georgia through violence” (Article 317). Beridze was charged under part 2 of Article 222 and part 1 of Article 225, while Manjgaladze was charged under part 1 of Article 225.
Former Interior Ministry official Irakli Shaishmelashvili, currently abroad, who was charged with publicly calling for the violent overthrow of Georgia’s constitutional order and state government, was sentenced to two years in absentia. Protesters Irakli Chkhvirkia, Nika Gventsadze, and Tornike Mchedlishvili, charged with participation in group violence and attempting to seize a strategically important facility, were each sentenced to five years in prison. Another protester, Guri Zhvania, charged with participation in group violence, was also sentenced to five years in prison.
Addressing the court, Paata Burchuladze said he had “nothing to justify” and remains convinced that he is “on the right path.” He added that “Georgia will never surrender,” continuing, “the people are wise and patriotic. That mob of state traitors that has seized power today will disappear like a terrible nightmare, and the skies will clear across all of Georgia.”
In his final statement before the verdict, Irakli Nadiradze rejected the charges. “I do not admit guilt. If anyone created organized groups, it was [Bidzina] Ivanishvili. No matter how much time passes, everyone will eventually be held accountable,” he said, according to TV Pirveli, which covered the trial.
“I believe the charges are so absurd,” Paata Manjgaladze said before the court, adding that he had not been an organizer of the October 4 unrest. He said that his criminal case “contains no evidence,” including no “information, object, document, audio and video material” that would confirm his guilt.
October 4 Unrest
The October 4 mass rally, timed to coincide with the partially boycotted municipal elections, was announced in late July by Paata Burchuladze, who described the event as a “national assembly.” He vowed to “peacefully overthrow” the Georgian Dream government, predicting that the “power transfer” would be completed by 8 p.m of October 4.
Burchuladze addressed the crowd of tens of thousands shortly before 7 pm, reading out a declaration that proclaimed power had returned “to the Georgian people.” He also called on the Interior Ministry to “obey” the people and demanded the arrest of several senior Georgian Dream officials, including party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Murtaz Zodelava, ex-Prosecutor General and opposition figure, then took the stage and called on a group of “male force” to “take over the keys of the Presidential Palace as the first step.” Soon afterward, a smaller group of protesters moved toward the Presidential Palace on Atoneli Street, tore down railings surrounding the compound, and attempted to enter the premises, but were repelled by riot police who emerged from the palace.
Over 60 people have been charged in connection with the October 4 events. Most of them were placed in pre-trial detention, including former UNM-era Minister Bacho Akhalaia, who was arrested later on accusations of leading the unrest. Four individuals – Giorgi Chakhunashvili, Mariam Mekantsishvili, Ia Darakhvelidze, and Eva Shashiashvili were released on bail. Alongside Shaishmelashvili, protesters Anton Uperi and Anton Vardanidze were charged in absentia.
Georgian Dream officials have described the events as a foreign-orchestrated coup attempt, while some critics have questioned whether the outcomes were part of a trap allegedly set by the authorities, including by suggesting that the palace railings may have been deliberately left loosely attached.
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