Arrested ex-official Akhalaia defends remarks on overthrowing government, claims he was expressing ‘personal opinion’

Former Georgian Defence Minister Bacho Akhalaia has defended comments about the removal of the current government, telling a court that he was expressing his personal political views rather than calling on others to take action in October last year. 

Speaking during a court hearing, Akhalaia said he believed people possess a natural right to oppose what they consider a dictatorship, but insisted he was not urging anyone to act.

"I said that this government should be overthrown. People are naturally endowed with that right," Akhalaia told the court. "I am not calling on anyone to do anything. I do not consider myself a person who should tell others what to do. I am expressing my position."

Akhalaia argued that if a government is regarded as dictatorial, its removal could be viewed as legitimate. He said he personally considers Georgia's current political system to be a dictatorship.

The former minister also referred to historical examples from the Soviet era, arguing that those who resisted Soviet rule believed they had the right to oppose the authorities of the time.

Akhalaia further stated that Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili understood that being removed from power would amount to the collapse of his political authority.

Akhalaia was arrested on 25 December last year in connection with events that took place in Tbilisi on 4 October.

Prosecutors initially charged him under Article 225, Part 1 of Georgia's Criminal Code with organising and leading group violence, an offence carrying a prison sentence of up to nine years.

On 27 March, prosecutors brought a second charge under Article 317 of the Criminal Code, accusing him of publicly calling for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order and state authority. The offence carries a potential sentence of up to three years in prison.

The case remains before the courts.