Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office has charged five members of the organizing committee behind the October 4 protest in Tbilisi, part of which escalated into an attempted storming of the presidential palace, News Georgia reported.
According to prosecutors, Murtaz Zodelava, Paata Burchuladze, and Irakli Nadiradze face charges under three articles of the Criminal Code – Article 222 (attempted seizure or blockade of strategic or critical facilities), Article 225 (organization or participation in mass violence), and Article 317 (calls for violent overthrow of the constitutional order or state power). Each carries a maximum sentence of up to nine years in prison.
Lasha Beridze has been charged under Articles 222 and 225, while Paata Mandzgaladze faces charges under Article 225 – both also punishable by up to nine years’ imprisonment.
The Prosecutor’s Office stated that during the October 4 rally at Freedom Square, Burchuladze presented a plan calling for “the detention of government representatives and the use of unlawful coercive measures against opponents.” Zodelava allegedly urged demonstrators to march toward the Presidential Administration building – classified as a strategic facility – and “seize it by force.”
The protest, branded as a “peaceful revolution,” coincided with Georgia’s municipal elections. Organizers declared the sitting government illegitimate and demanded the “peaceful transfer of power.” However, part of the crowd later attempted to force entry into the presidential residence, located about one kilometer from the main protest site.
Security forces repelled the assault using tear gas and water cannons, while demonstrators built makeshift barricades from nearby café and restaurant furniture and hurled fireworks and stones at police.
The Health Ministry reported that 21 police officers and six protesters were hospitalized. Several members of the protest’s coordination group were detained.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, of the ruling Georgian Dream party, described the events as an “attempted coup d’état organized by foreign intelligence services.”
