Tbilisi court acquits pro-European activist Abramov in drug case

A court in Tbilisi has acquitted a 22-year-old pro-European activist of serious drug charges and ordered his immediate release from custody on Friday.

Judge Tamar Mchedlishvili found Tedo Abramov not guilty, clearing him of possessing 4.4g of the party drug MDMA - an offence that prosecutors said constituted a “particularly large quantity” and carried a potential sentence of eight to 20 years in prison.

Abramov had denied the charges, alleging he was subjected to ill-treatment and abuse of power by police during his arrest. He claimed he had never used or possessed illegal drugs and described the case as baseless.

In his final statement to the court this week, Abramov appealed for a fair verdict, saying “It’s simply terrible, and I ask for just one thing - that a fair decision is made. Allow me to return to my family, my loved ones, my grandmother.”

Abramov’s case drew attention because of his participation in pro-European rallies in Georgia sparked by the Georgian Dream government’s decision late last year to delay the country’s EU integration until 2028. His supporters had suggested the prosecution was politically motivated.