UNM officials call leader Khabeishvili sentence politically motivated

Officials from the opposition United National Movement have condemned the prison sentence handed to party leader Levan Khabeishvili, describing the case as politically motivated and legally unfounded.

Khabeishvili was sentenced by a court in Tbilisi to two years and six months in prison, while co-defendant Murtaz Zodelava received a nine-month sentence.

Speaking after the ruling, UNM deputy secretary general Irakli Pavlenishvili said the opposition would continue efforts to secure Khabeishvili’s release.

“We will do everything to strengthen faith and spirit even more and soon free both Levan and our fellow fighters,” Pavlenishvili said, adding that “the Georgian people will win this struggle”.

He described the case as unprecedented and argued that Khabeishvili had been imprisoned because the authorities viewed him as a political threat.

Khabeishvili’s lawyer, Giorgi Kondakhishvili, also criticised the ruling, saying prosecutors themselves did not believe the original qualification was related to an alleged official crime.

Kondakhishvili said the court had acquitted Khabeishvili on corruption-related charges, while convicting him over public statements that prosecutors interpreted as calls against state authority.

“The discussion was about Levan urging Interior Ministry employees not to commit crimes and saying they would be rewarded for refusing unlawful orders,” the lawyer said.

He added that although the defence considered the charges absurd, he viewed the sentence as closer to a “rational decision” than the five to six years prosecutors had reportedly sought.

Khabeishvili was arrested on 11 September 2025 and charged under Article 339 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which concerns promising money to a public official in exchange for unlawful actions.