Georgia court sentences 3 officers to 5 years for protest assaults

A court in Georgia has sentenced three special forces officers to 5 years in prison each for assaults on Formula TV journalist Guram Rogava and protester Zviad Maisashvili. The officer convicted in Rogava’s case was also banned from professional duties for 3 years.

The assaults took place during protests that began on 28 November 2024, after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the government would take the opening of European Union accession talks off its agenda until the end of 2028.

JAMnews said prosecutor Lasha Gamkrelidze informed Rogava of the verdict by phone. Lawyer Dimitri Mchedlishvili confirmed the sentences for the two officers in Maisashvili’s case to Tabula.

The assaults and charges

On 29 November 2024, an officer attacked Rogava while he was reporting live from Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, seriously injuring him. The following day, officers kicked Maisashvili in the face during a protest on the avenue, causing him to lose consciousness.

On 7 May 2026, Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had identified and detained five people over assaults on Rogava, Maisashvili and opposition politician Levan Khabeishvili. It said four were current or former special forces officers and the fifth was a serving officer with the Interior Ministry’s Security Police Department. Prosecutors charged the detainees under Article 333(3) of Georgia’s Criminal Code with abuse of official powers involving violence. The officer in Rogava’s case also faced a charge under Article 154(2) of unlawfully obstructing a journalist’s work through violence.

Georgia’s Public Defender said no police officers had been held accountable for law-enforcement violence during the protest period examined in its report, from 15 April 2024 to 1 March 2025.

Dispute over identification

Rogava believes the person who directly assaulted him remains at large. At an earlier pretrial hearing at Tbilisi City Court, he said the detained officer’s build did not match that of the officer in video of the attack. Maisashvili also questioned how the suspects had been identified.

A prosecutor responded during the earlier proceedings that the evidence included interviews, videos and expert findings, and said everyone appearing in the circulated footage had been charged. The prosecutor declined to explain publicly which evidence established each identification and said victims could examine the case materials.

Rogava had expected to testify, but the prosecutor told him his testimony was unnecessary because the court and defense had accepted the charges as undisputed. Maisashvili said both officers detained over his assault admitted guilt and apologized to him.

In its 7 May 2026 statement, the Prosecutor’s Office said investigations would continue to identify other possible perpetrators and bring them to justice.