TBILISI, September 21 – Georgia’s ombudsman says the court failed to establish a terrorism purpose when it handed a 13 year prison sentence to Aleko Elisashvili last July. The statement improves the opposition politician’s standing in an upcoming appeal hearing.
The long prison sentence was issued last July, for an incident in November, 2025, during which the politician broke into the Tbilisi City Court building, poured gasoline on office computers and fought a security guard. In the trial, he explained it as a political protest, but the court found him guilty of terrorism.
In a statement Monday, the Public Defender’s Office said it had submitted a legal opinion to the Tbilisi Court of Appeals after reviewing the verdict provided by Elisashvili’s lawyer.
The ombudsman, Levan Ioseliani, said the Tbilisi City Court had not given enough attention to whether Elisashvili acted with a specifically terrorist purpose. Instead, according to the statement, the court automatically treated his motive for political protest as proof of such a purpose.
Under Georgia’s Criminal Code, the ombudsman said, a terrorist purpose is an essential element of the offense and must be supported by a properly reasoned judgment. A motive for political protest and a terrorist purpose are not automatically the same thing, the office argued.
The submission is a legal opinion intended to assist the appeals court, and draws on international standards, European Court of Human Rights case law and legal scholarship concerning the need to distinguish motive from purpose.
Elisashvili is leader of the political party Citizen, and ran alongside the opposition Strong Georgia-Lelo coalition in the municipal election in Tbilisi last year. Interpressnews reported last Thursday that he faces proceedings in four criminal cases, including the attempted terrorism case in which he was convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He also faces a separate terrorism charge concerning a fire at a court archive building earlier in 2025, as well as charges of contempt of court and politically motivated persecution.
Those other charges are in addition to the 13 year prison sentence, and are not part of the upcoming appeal.
