A trial is underway at Tbilisi City Court in connection with the October 4 protest case.

At the latest hearing, the court questioned prosecution witness Ioseb Rostiashvili, an employee of the Special Tasks Department.

According to Rostiashvili, on October 4 his unit was deployed from its base to Atoneli Street following a report of unrest. He said officers could already see from the bus that the protest had turned violent.

“Patrol and criminal police were on the scene, and there was physical violence against officers. When we got off the bus and moved toward the Presidential Palace, protesters were swearing and throwing various objects at us. Calls to disperse continued for about half an hour, but objects kept being thrown,” the witness told the court.

He said around 40–50 officers were present and that protesters threw stones, damaging nearby infrastructure, including garbage bins, fences and state property. Several officers were injured.

“I was hit in the head by a stone that broke my helmet. Injured employees were being taken to vehicles. The palace fence was damaged. They were insulting us, calling us ‘Russian slaves’ and pigs, and telling us to come over to their side,” Rostiashvili said.

After the witness testimony, defendants in the October 4 case and members of the Strategy Aghmashenebeli party, Paata Manjgaladze and Lasha Beridze, addressed the court.

Manjgaladze said participation in a protest does not mean a person is destroying the country.

“We are fighting for a better future and for democracy. We should not radicalize the idea that being at a rally means destroying the country. The police should not be politicized,” he said.

Beridze stated that neither the judge nor the prosecution had presented evidence that he attended the demonstration with special equipment.

“None of us had a mask or special equipment at the protest. Did you see any of us insulting you or instructing anyone to do so?” Beridze said in court.