The court has reclassified the charge of offering a bribe against the member of the opposition United National Movement party, Levan Khabeishvili, as sabotage and sentenced him to two years and six months in prison.

Judge Irakli Khuskivadze announced the ruling, noting that the charge was reclassified under Part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which concerns actions aimed at obstructing the normal functioning of state institutions with the intent of weakening the state.

Khabeishvili was not present at the hearing.

For reference, the State Security Service detained Levan Khabeishvili on September 11, 2025, on charges of publicly promising monetary payments to officials in the form of bribes.

He has been charged under Part 2 of Article 339 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which concerns the promise of a bribe, that is, the promise to transfer money to an official, for that official, in the exercise of his powers and the performance of his duties, to carry out some action or to refrain from carrying out some action in the interests of the person giving the bribe.

According to the investigation, Khabeishvili publicly disseminated appeals across television and social media platforms, promising bribes to law enforcement personnel on condition that, during demonstrations held against the government, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’s Special Task Force would refuse to carry out their assigned duties and would also refrain from using the special means lawfully at their disposal. For any such conduct, Levan Khabeishvili publicly promised to pay USD 200,000.

Furthermore, according to the investigation, Levan Khabeishvili publicly pledged to pay USD 200,000 as a bribe to police officers in exchange for confidential information and classified materials related to their official duties. He also promised the same amount to personnel of the Special Task Force, in exchange for refusing to attend training and exercises.

Levan Khabeishvili has also been charged under Article 317 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which concerns public incitement to the overthrow of state power. According to the prosecution, from June 2025 onwards, the accused systematically called upon citizens, through television broadcasts and social media, to commit acts such as the violent overthrow of state power, specifying particular dates and locations for this purpose.