Five law enforcement officers charged over violence during 2024 protests, prosecutor general

Georgia’s Prosecutor General Giorgi Gvarakidze has announced the arrest and identification of five law enforcement officers over alleged violence against demonstrators and a journalist during protests in 2024.

According to Gvarakidze, those charged include three former and one current member of the Interior Ministry’s special task department, as well as one serving employee of the ministry’s Security Police Department.

The prosecutor general said two of the five suspects were already in custody on separate criminal and administrative cases, while the remaining three were detained on the day of the announcement.

He added that investigators from the Tbilisi Prosecutor’s Office had carried out thousands of investigative and procedural actions in connection with the cases, including interviews with more than 550 witnesses.

The first case relates to an incident on Rustaveli Avenue on 30 November 2024, when two then-members of the Interior Ministry’s special task department allegedly used physical violence against demonstrator Zviad Maisashvili, causing him to lose consciousness. Prosecutors said one of the accused is currently employed by the Security Police Department.

The second case concerns violence against opposition politician Levan Khabeishvili during a protest on Rustaveli Avenue on 30 April 2024. Prosecutors said one of the accused currently serves as a division head within the Special Operations Department of State Security Service of Georgia.

The third case involves an attack on journalist Guram Rogava during a protest on 29 November 2024, while he was carrying out his professional duties.

All five suspects are expected to be charged under Article 333, Part 3(b) of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which concerns violent abuse of official authority. The suspect in the Rogava case also faces an additional charge under Article 154, Part 2, relating to the unlawful obstruction of a journalist’s professional activities through violence.

The charges carry prison sentences ranging from five to eight years.

The Prosecutor’s Office said it would ask the court to impose pre-trial detention on all five defendants.