Tbilisi City Court Judge Koba Chagunava ruled that Nika Gvaramia, leader of the Coalition for Change, had broken the law and sentenced him to 12 days in prison.
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The Ministry of Internal Affairs charged Nika Gvaramia with violating Articles 166 and 173 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which cover petty hooliganism and insulting a police officer. The maximum penalty for these offences is imprisonment for up to 15 days.
Nika Gvaramia was transferred from the Marneuli detention centre to Tbilisi City Court in the morning without his lawyers being notified.
“They were going to hold the trial without us. Only after Nika himself requested the presence of lawyers was the trial postponed, and we were given one hour to appear in court,” said Dimitri Sadzaglishvili before the hearing began.
The lawyer requested an adjournment to familiarize himself with the case materials, but Judge Chagunava denied the motion.
Nika Gvaramia was arrested on December 4 outside the office of the Coalition for Change when he asked to enter the office during an ongoing search. After a verbal altercation, police officers pushed him to the ground and forcibly arrested him. According to Dimitri Sadzaglishvili, Gvaramia was punched in the stomach, causing him to “lose consciousness for a few seconds.”
On December 4, the Central Criminal Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted a series of searches at the offices of opposition parties involved in the protests, as well as the apartments of activists. The department is investigating under Articles 225 and 239 of the Criminal Code, which relate to organizing, leading, or participating in group violence and publicly inciting violent action. Thirteen people have been arrested on these charges, including actor Andro Chichinadze, comedian Onise Tskhadadze, and Zviad Tsetskhladze, leader of the youth movement Dafioni. They face up to 9 years in prison.
