Civil activist and representative of the opposition party Girchi – More Freedom (Coalition for Change), Gela Khasaya, has been released from a penitentiary facility after spending a year behind bars.
On May 8, 2026, a plea bargain was finalized with Khasaya. Under its terms, he was handed a primary sentence of four years, of which he served one year in prison, with the remaining three years suspended.
Gela Khasaya and another activist, Vasil Kerdikoshvili, were detained on September 29, 2025. The prosecutor’s office charged them with intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm committed by a group of persons.
A plea bargain was also concluded with Vasil Kerdikoshvili under similar terms.
According to the prosecution, on September 1 in Tbilisi, in an area adjacent to Queen Tamar Avenue, the defendants, acting as a group, deliberately caused bodily harm to the victim, Ramaz Chaduneli.
During court examination, the victim testified that two men assaulted him near the Dezerter Bazaar (Dezertirebi Market), noting that he had been drinking beer with them prior to the incident.
“I had an argument with the guys,” he said in response to a question from the prosecutor, without specifying the cause of the dispute.
When asked by the prosecution whether he could identify the attackers among those present in the courtroom, the victim first turned toward the public gallery to inspect the room, and upon being asked again, pointed to Kerdikoshvili.
As for Gela Khasaya, the victim was unable to identify him, stating only that the attacker was short in stature and wore shorts.
Following the plea agreement, Gela Khasaya’s defense attorney, Omar Purtseladze, explained that “this was a very difficult, very complex, but unavoidable decision.”
“Refusing the plea bargain would have meant that, regardless of our position, Vasil Kerdikoshvili and a member of his family would have testified against Gela Khasaya and accepted the deal, leaving Gela facing a guaranteed five-year prison sentence.
Gela Khasaya’s choice was not between freedom through struggle and signing a deal, but between a five-year prison sentence and spending another four months behind bars. The decision was made strictly out of arithmetic expediency,” the attorney stated.