Two special forces officers were sentenced to five years in prison each in the case of beating the chairman of the opposition party of the United National Movement, Leban Khabeishvili, during demonstrations in Tbilisi in May 2024.
The verdict was announced on November 13 by Tbilisi City Court Judge Juba Nakhabiya.
Khabeishvili was beaten at a protest rally near the Georgian government headquarters on May 1, 2024. On the same day, the parliament approved the law on "foreign agents" in a second reading. The opponent was hospitalized with broken facial bones.
The trial was conducted behind closed doors, and the case materials were classified as confidential. The defendants were the head of one of the divisions of the Special Operations Department of the State Security Service and an employee of the Georgian Ministry of the Interior. The prosecutor's office charged them with abuse of power with the use of violence - a crime set forth in Part 3 of Section 333 of the Georgia Penal Code.
The opposition believes that the punishment did not restore justice.
"With this verdict, justice has not been restored. Khabeishvili demands that not only the perpetrators, but also those who gave the order, be arrested and prosecuted," the politician's lawyer told Radio Liberty's Georgian service.
Khabeishvili himself has been serving a sentence of two years and six months in prison since May 21, 2026 for additional charges - promising a bribe to an official and calling for the overthrow of the government.