The Tbilisi City Court has sentenced Davit Lomidze and Temur Zasokhashvili, detained during the Rustaveli mass protest rallies, to four years and six months in prison. Judge Nino Galustashvili announced the verdict.

In their final statements, both men declared they did not plead guilty and urged the court to deliver a fair judgment.

Lomidze and Zasokhashvili were detained on December 1, 2024. The Prosecutor’s Office alleges they attacked a Special Task Force officer on Chichinadze Street during the night and threw Molotov cocktails, which resulted in the burning of a water cannon vehicle belonging to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

They faced charges under Article 353, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (assault on a police officer in connection with their official duties), which carries a sentence of four to seven years in prison.