Zurab Chavchanidze, convicted in the “October 4 case,” was released from a correctional facility today, November 6. He was freed after reaching a procedural agreement (plea bargain), the Georgian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports.
On June 22, 2026, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced Zurab Chavchanidze and seven other protesters to five years in prison each. They were charged with participating in group violence and attempting to seize a strategic facility.
At that time, Chavchanidze requested a plea bargain, but the prosecution rejected it. Prosecutor Tamar Yakobidze explained that the defendant did not admit guilt to the charges, which was a mandatory condition for finalizing an agreement.
In the same case, which initially involved 14 defendants, six entered into procedural agreements back in June and were released right in the courtroom.
On October 19, during a hearing at the Court of Appeals, it was announced that a procedural agreement would be concluded with Zurab Chavchanidze.
The terms of the procedural agreement were set at one year and one month of imprisonment alongside a two-year probationary period.
Today, November 6, convicts in the October 4 “peaceful overthrow” case, Irakli Chkhvirkia and Nana Sander, were also released from correctional custody under procedural agreements.
Several individuals convicted in the “October 4 case” are securing plea bargains at the appellate review stage. On November 4, opposition politician and former Prosecutor General Murtaz Zodelava, along with former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Lasha Beridze, were released from prison.
Charges concerning the events of October 4, 2025, were brought against 64 individuals, including political figures. On that day, coinciding with municipal elections in Georgia, a mass protest took place in Tbilisi calling for the “peaceful overthrow” of the government. A group of demonstrators attempted to break into the presidential palace but was dispersed by riot police.
