The judge in the October 4 case, Romeo Tkeshelashvili, stated that even if there had been no fence at the Presidential Palace on Atoneli Street, “no one had the right to enter.”
Before pronouncing the sentence, the judge explained the guilty verdict to the defendants. According to him, the defendants claimed that a provocation had allegedly taken place, but this was not supported by the examination of the evidence.
“When examining the video evidence, we saw that during the peaceful protest, certain statements were made by the very people at whose call you relocated there. You were urged to move to the presidential palace and use ‘male force’ to carry out the actions we saw in the video recordings.
No one is being judged here for their honesty or dishonesty — you are all honest people. The only issue under consideration is whether the prosecution has established the elements of a crime,” Tkeshelashvili explained.
The judge continued, noting that the peaceful protest had taken place on Freedom Square, and none of the defendants had been detained by the police there.
“After you joined the protest at the Palace on Atoneli Street, violence broke out. Several police officers were injured. Try, even now, to distinguish between black and white.
The Presidential Palace is a strategic facility, and no one has the right to enter its territory without a pass. Some of you were in the front rows, and security was repelling the attack of an aggressive group,” the judge pointed out.
According to Romeo Tkeshelashvili, participants entered the premises on several occasions, and in those instances, the fence did not act as a barrier.
“Even if there had been no fence, no one would have had the right to enter anyway. The video recordings show that the protesters interfered with the filming and demanded that no video recording be made. The prosecution has managed to prove the guilt of all eight defendants,” Judge Tkeshelashvili stated.
As a reminder, in one of the episodes of the events of October 4, 2025, the court found eight defendants guilty: Zurab Chavchanidze, Vladimir Gvelesiani, Amiran Dolishvili, Anton Vardanidze, Aleksandre Chilachava, Gennadi Kupreishvili, Sulkhan Tugushi, and Ramaz Mamuladze.
By the decision of Tbilisi City Court Judge Romeo Tkeshelashvili, all eight defendants, including Zurab Chavchanidze, were sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment each.