Georgia’s appeals court cuts four defendants' protest-case sentences
Each defendant received three years and one month: one year and one month in custody and two years suspended, with release expected in November.
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Each defendant received three years and one month: one year and one month in custody and two years suspended, with release expected in November.
Georgia’s Tbilisi Court of Appeals approved plea agreements on 28 October 2026 for opposition politician Murtaz Zodelava, reserve colonel Lasha Beridze and protesters Guri Zhvania and Irakli Chkhvirkia, reducing their sentences over the 4 October 2025 anti-government protests and clashes. OC Media said, citing Interpressnews (IPN), that each received three years and one month, comprising one year and one month in custody and two years suspended.
The four had already been convicted by Tbilisi City Court. The new agreements, reached with Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office, required them to plead guilty.
Charges across the wider 4 October case have included organising and participating in group violence, attempting to seize facilities of strategic or special importance, and calling for the overthrow of state authority.
The 4 October 2025 protest coincided with widely boycotted municipal elections. Some opposition figures promoted it as a “peaceful revolution” to end Georgian Dream’s 13-year rule. Zodelava and Beridze were members of the protest’s organising committee.
Zodelava called for a march to the Presidential Palace. A small group then breached part of the palace fence before riot police pushed them back, and sporadic clashes followed. Georgian Dream described the incident as a violent, foreign-orchestrated coup attempt.
More than 60 people have been convicted in the wider case. Three other organising-committee members—opera singer and opposition figure Paata Burchuladze and opposition politicians Paata Manjgaladze and Irakli Nadiradze—remain imprisoned without plea agreements.
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IPN said on 13 October 2026 that the four defendants’ cases had been separated from the main proceedings so their plea agreements could be finalised. At the 28 October approval hearing, all four admitted the charges.
I understand the legal consequences, and no pressure has been exerted on me
| Defendant | Earlier prison sentence | Expected release in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Murtaz Zodelava | 7 years | 4 November |
| Lasha Beridze | 7 years | During November |
| Guri Zhvania | 5 years | 16 November |
| Irakli Chkhvirkia | 5 years | 6 November |
IPN gives the specific release dates above. The four have already served most of their revised custodial terms, which is why they are expected to leave prison during November rather than serve another full year and month.
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