TBILISI, November 13 – A court in Georgia has ordered the pre-trial detention of former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia, escalating a political and legal drama that now spans two major criminal cases and a bitter war of words between the former leader and the ruling party.
The ruling came Thursday in Tbilisi City Court. Judge Davit Kurtanidze granted a request from state prosecutors, who said Gakharia should be detained in absentia because they believe he could commit new offenses, pressure witnesses, or evade justice. Gakharia has been outside Georgia for several months and did not attend the hearing.
Prosecutors have accused the ex PM of criminal misconduct in two separate investigations. One concerns the so-called Chorchana episode along the administrative line with the Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia. The other centers on the violent dispersal of crowds during the June 20 protest in Tbilisi, an event that left dozens injured when riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets. Two people lost an eye and several suffered serious injuries.
Prosecutors say that during the 20 June events, Gakharia instructed a special police unit to deploy multiple crowd-control weapons at the same time without warning demonstrators or giving them a chance to leave the area. In the Chorchana case, they accuse him of unilaterally ordering the construction of an additional police checkpoint near the occupation line. They argue that this move allowed armed formations from the Tskhinvali de facto authorities to seize high ground on Georgian-controlled territory on 5 September 2019. A forested area of about one hundred hectares ended up under their control, and several homes in two Georgian villages were also caught behind the line. Authorities at the time described the situation as posing a real risk of armed confrontation.
Both cases carry severe penalties. Gakharia has been charged under articles 25 and 117, paragraph 3 (sub-paragraph m), and article 333, paragraph 2 of Georgia’s criminal code. The maximum possible sentence is thirteen years in prison. A separate hearing on the June 20 charges is scheduled for 20:00 later today.
Gakharia’s lawyers say there is no basis for detention and that prosecutors have not shown credible evidence. Defense lawyer Bredia Sichinava told the court that the accusation is directed “not at Giorgi Gakharia but at Georgia.” He asked, “Which new crime are we talking about when the old one does not exist.” The defense argues the process is political, saying that the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, announced political persecution against Gakharia on live television.
Shortly after the court ruling, Gakharia’s party, Gakharia for Georgia, released a statement in his name. Gakharia called the charges “political persecution” and “fabricated,” and claimed they fulfill a threat made by Ivanishvili. In a message posted on X, he wrote that Georgian Dream has “institutionalized” a campaign against him by bringing the two criminal cases. He said the move marks “a new stage in the fight to preserve Georgia’s European future,” adding that he will continue that struggle from abroad.
Gakharia’s statement also said that both Georgia’s democratic forces and Western partners lost the information battle at home, but that the more important task is keeping the European idea alive in Georgia. He described an increasingly repressive atmosphere but argued that freedom and democracy remain deeply rooted in Georgian society. Cutting ties with Western partners, he warned, would speed up Georgia’s slide into Russia’s sphere of influence.
