Court removes lawyers from 4 October case

Tamar Makharoblidze, a judge at Tbilisi City Court, removed lawyers Dimitri Sadzaglishvili and Shota Kakhidze from the courtroom in the ongoing 4 October case, related to anti-governmental rallies.

The incident occurred after a dispute between Judge Makharoblidze and Sadzaglishvili over a question posed to an expert. Sadzaglishvili asked the expert whether they had knowledge of the events in Tbilisi on 4 October 2025 and were familiar with statements from the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the ongoing processes that day.

The prosecution filed a motion to exclude the question, which the judge granted. Sadzaglishvili then asked the judge to explain the reasoning behind excluding his question, leading to a heated exchange and ultimately the expulsion of the lawyers from the courtroom.

Following the decision, the defendants walked out of the courtroom in protest.

The defendants - Kakhaber Kvachantiradze, Simon Makharadze, Gia Toloraia, Avtandil Topchishvili, Mikheil Toloraia, Iuri Lomidze, Giorgi Talakhadze, Davit Giunashvili, Saba Kordzaia, Giorgi Kirvalidze, Koba Epitashvili, Manuchar Mikeladze, and Beka Machavariani - face charges under Article 222(2)(a) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, relating to the attempted seizure and blocking of strategic and high-importance facilities committed as a group.