TBILISI, October 29 – More people convicted over Georgia’s protests are entering plea agreements with prosecutors. Some have already been released from prison and others are seeking similar deals.
The latest agreements were approved Wednesday for Murtaz Zodelava, Lasha Beridze, Guri Zhvania and Irakli Chkhvirkia, all four sentenced in the ‘October 4′ case.
All four admitted the charges against them. Under the deals, each received a sentence of three years and one month, but only one year and one month will be served in prison, with the remaining two years suspended. They are due to leave prison during November.
Their original sentences were considerably longer. Zodelava and Beridze had each been sentenced to seven years, while Zhvania and Chkhvirkia received five years. The charges included organizing group violence and attempting to seize or block a strategically important facility.
They are not the first October 4 convicts to secure their freedom through plea deals. On October 16, several prisoners were released from Gldani prison under such agreements. Interpressnews identified Kaha Kvachantiradze and Giorgi Talakhadze among those released.
And further cases are set to follow, with Zurab Chavchanidze expected to receive a deal cutting his actual prison term to one year and one month, followed by a two-year suspended sentence. Anton Vardanidze, who like Chavchanidze was sentenced to five years, has also asked prosecutors for a plea agreement.
Nana Sander has also sought a deal. Her lawyer said she admitted the charge and could leave prison around November 7 if the agreement is approved by the court.
On Wednesday, three more convicts, Konstantine Kokaia, Kakhaber Mzhavanadze and Davit Sturua, told the Tbilisi Court of Appeals that they wanted plea agreements. All three are serving five-year sentences. Another convict, Davit Zhghenti, did not attend the hearing and his position remains unknown. Ia Darakhvelidze, convicted in the same case, remains wanted.
One of the most prominent October 4 convicts, opera singer Paata Burchuladze, said on October 23 that he alone had organized the protest. In a statement addressed to the Constitutional Court, Burchuladze said he was ready to appear in person or testify remotely if the October 4 events came up in the court’s proceedings. He also rejected claims that opposition parties had organized the gathering.
The October 4, 2025 protest took place outside the presidential palace on Atoneli Street in Tbilisi. Prosecutors brought charges ranging from participation in and organization of group violence to attempting to seize a strategically important site. Some defendants were also charged over calls for the violent overthrow of Georgia’s constitutional order.
Freeing those jailed over protests following the 2024 parliamentary election has been one of the main demands of the daily protest rallies by the opposition.
