TBILISI, October 6 – Two opposition figures serving seven-year prison terms for the October 4, 2025 unrest in downtown Tbilisi have asked prosecutors for plea agreements.
Murtaz Zodelava and Lasha Beridze raised the issue during a hearing in the Appeals Court on Monday. Another convicted defendant in the same case, Guri Zhvania, has also requested a plea deal.
Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office said Zodelava and Beridze had admitted the crimes for which they were convicted, expressed remorse and formally applied for plea agreements. Prosecutors said they would announce their position once a decision had been reached.
The two men were sentenced by Tbilisi City Court to seven years in prison, in a case which according to the prosecution covered attempts to seize or block strategically important facilities, organizing and leading group violence, and, in Zodelava’s case, publicly calling for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order.
Beridze’s lawyer, Ramaz Chinchaladze, said he expected the plea agreement to be approved at the next court hearing, with the final terms to be clarified then.
Zodelava is represented by his lawyer wife Maia Mumladze, who said negotiations were still underway and that no final agreement had yet been reached. She described seeking a deal as the most pragmatic option in the current situation, adding that Zodelava himself would explain his reasons.
The October 4, 2025 protest in Tbilisi took place ahead of local elections. Demonstrators initially gathered at Freedom Square before some moved toward the presidential palace after Zodelava addressed the crowd. Several people breached a barrier at the palace grounds, and police later arrested Zodelava, Paata Burchuladze, Irakli Nadiradze, Paata Manjgaladze, Beridze and dozens of activists.
The two plea talks come after similar agreements earlier this year, which led to the release of dozens of anti-government protesters, which accommodates the opposition’s main demand since beginning daily protests after the 2024 parliamentary election.
The latest plea talks were mildly welcomed in the opposition camp, with United National Movement figure Ana Tsitlidze saying defendants should use the option if they wanted to, arguing that they were more useful to the opposition outside prison. Paata Burchuladze, however, said through his lawyer that he would consider his own release only when all those he regards as political prisoners had the same opportunity.
