Detention has been ordered as a preventive measure for the head of a unit within the Special Operations Department of the State Security Service of Georgia and an officer from the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Special Tasks Department, both accused of physical violence against opposition politician Levan Khabeishvili.
The decision was delivered by Judge Levan Gelovani of the Tbilisi City Court. Both individuals are charged with abuse of official authority involving the use of violence.
The hearing at the Tbilisi City Court was held in camera (behind closed doors). The defendants did not have legal representation.
As a reminder, the prosecutor’s office detained five individuals in connection with acts of violence against protester Zviad Maisashvili, politician Levan Khabeishvili, and journalist Guram Rogava during the 2024 protests. Among those detained are three former and one current security officer, as well as a current employee of the MIA Security Police Department.
Two of the security officers are already in custody as part of investigations into other criminal cases.
All five have been charged under Article 333 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which covers the abuse of official authority involving the use of violence. Additionally, one of the defendants involved in the episode concerning Guram Rogava has been further charged under Article 154 of the Criminal Code—unlawful interference with a journalist’s professional activities through the use of violence.
The charges carry a potential sentence of five to eight years in prison.
Mamuka Mdinaradze denied the version regarding “orchestrators” of violence at the protests
