Prosecutor's Office Charges Aleksandre Elisashvili with Attempted Terrorist Act

The Prosecutor's Office states that on 29 November, at about 04:00, masked Aleksandre Elisashvili, armed with a firearm, ammunition, and items necessary for carrying out a terrorist act, approached the Tbilisi City Court building. He used a hammer to break the glass of the outer facade of the court chancery building and entered the court's premises.

The video footage released by the Prosecutor's Office is included in the case file. The video shows a masked man walking down the street, and then the subsequent events that occurred in the court's office. The footage does not show how he entered the building.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, after unlawfully entering the building, Aleksandre Elisashvili poured a large quantity of flammable liquid onto various parts of the interior space, including objects and documents, and tried to ignite them. The Prosecutor's Office explained that he was caught in the act by employees of the Bailiff’s Service.

Upon seeing one of the bailiffs, Aleksandre Elisashvili attacked him and began beating him. During the arrest, three bailiffs tried to neutralise Aleksandre Elisashvili, destroy the means of setting fire to a flammable substance, and disarm him. The attacker, in turn, attempted to pull out a firearm and use it.

“Aleksandre Elisashvili actively resisted the bailiff's officers for about 5-6 minutes, after which he was detained,” the prosecutor's office stated.

Elisashvili was charged under Article 19-323, Part 1 of the Criminal Code, which relates to an attempt to commit a terrorist act and mandates a sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison. The prosecutor's office is demanding that the accused be sentenced to imprisonment as a precautionary measure.

According to lawyer Giorgi Rekhviashvili, Aleksandre Elisashvili admits to the act but denies the charges brought against him.

“He believes that he committed actions that do not constitute a crime; this is the only form of his protest. It was dedicated to unfair trials and, in general, it was to show solidarity with political prisoners. Therefore, the proposed article is absurd."

How many people can you think of, politicians or individuals, who have been charged with terrorism?! Particularly when the action has not been carried out and completed.

Aleksandre Elisashvili admits to the action, although he does not believe that it was a crime. As for terrorism, this is absurd. Previously, it was initiated under subparagraph "a" of the second part of Article 187, which provided for a term of imprisonment of 3 to 6 years. However, it seems that no sanction was imposed, and it was reclassified under the article on terrorism. They are declaring Aleksandre Elisashvili a terrorist,” the lawyer stated.

The coalition “Strong Georgia – Lelo” distanced itself from Elisashvili yesterday, describing his actions as “unacceptable” and “unjustifiable.”

Aleksandre Elisashvili is also involved in another criminal case. The prosecutor's office accuses him of politically motivated persecution of Ali Babaev, one of the founders of Georgian Dream. He has been granted bail as a precautionary measure in this case, and if convicted, he faces up to 3 years in prison.

On 15 April 2024, while Aleksandre Elisashvili was a member of parliament, he punched the parliamentary majority leader, Mamuka Mdinaradze, in the face during a session of the Legal Affairs Committee to discuss the “Agents Law.” “There will be an appropriate response to this. I am not going to threaten with street methods now. We will give him an appropriate response,” Mamuka Mdinaradze said after the incident. Mamuka Mdinaradze is currently the head of the State Security Service of the Georgian Dream government.