“Even if there had been no fence, no one had the right to enter,” declared Romeo Tkeshelashvili, the presiding judge in the October 4 case, during the court session ahead of the verdict announcement.

According to the judge, the examination of evidence did not indicate that any provocation had taken place.

“The defendants claimed that a provocation had taken place, yet the examination of evidence revealed no such thing. During the review of video evidence, we saw that specific statements were made at the rally precisely by the individuals whose calls prompted you to move towards the Presidential Palace. What they called upon you to do was to relocate to the Presidential Palace and use ‘manly force’ to carry out the actions we witnessed in the video recordings.

The rally at Freedom Square was peaceful, and not a single one of you was detained there by the police. The violence occurred only after you joined the protest outside the Atoneli Presidential Palace. Numerous police officers were injured. The Presidential Palace is a strategic site, and no one has the right to enter its grounds without a permit. Trespassing on a strategic site has occurred repeatedly. Even if there had been no fence, no one had the right to enter. We also saw in the video recordings that the demonstrators were actively obstructing filming. The prosecution has successfully proven the charges against all eight defendants,” Judge Tkeshelashvili stated.

For context, eight individuals charged under one of the episodes relating to the events of October 4, Zurab Chavchanidze, Vladimer Gvelesiani, Amiran Dolishvili, Anton Vardanidze, Alexandre Chilachava, Genadi Kupreishvili, Sulkhan Tughushi, and Ramaz Mamuladze, have been found guilty by the court. By the ruling of Tbilisi City Court Judge Romeo Tkeshelashvili, all eight individuals have been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.