Arrested opposition leader claims past protests in Georgia were peaceful, denies criminal intent

Murtaz Zodelava, an opposition leader, has told a court that past anti-governmental demonstrations in the country had generally been peaceful and did not exceed administrative violations.

Speaking at the hearing Thursday, Zodelava said that since Georgia’s independence, protests have sometimes involved minor confrontations but remained within administrative law.

“If any demonstration has taken place in Georgia and there was an incident, it was always in this form and never went beyond administrative violations. The first time criminal liability arose was on 20 June. Since then, the authorities have tried to introduce harsher methods of punishment. Previously, responses were administrative; now, the penalties range from four to six years,” Zodelava said.

He added "since Georgia became independent, protests were always like this - sometimes confrontational - but the state’s response was limited to administrative accountability.”

Zodelava, along with Paata Burculadze and Irakli Nadiradze, faces charges under several articles of Georgia’s Criminal Code. These include attempting to seize or block strategically important or high-value facilities committed by a group, organising and leading group violence, and calling for the violent overthrow of Georgia’s constitutional order or government during October 4 protests.
Convictions under these provisions carry sentences of up to nine years in prison.