In Georgia, two police officers sentenced to 5 years for violence against Khabeishvili

A court sentenced two police special forces officers to five years in prison each for violence used in spring 2024 against Levan Khabeishvili, a member of the opposition United National Movement. The information was confirmed by Khabeishvili's lawyer, Georgian media report. Khabeishvili himself is currently also serving a sentence on charges related to the unrest of October 4.

The verdict was handed down alongside similar five-year terms for other officers found guilty of violence against journalist Guram Rogava and protest participant Zviad Maisashvili in the first days of the pro-EU rallies that began on November 28.

Khabeishvili was severely beaten by police during the April 30 - May 1 protests against the foreign agents law. He suffered multiple bruises and lacerations to his face, a severe eye injury and a broken nose, and underwent a lengthy rehabilitation.

In May the prosecutor's office announced the arrest of three people and the identification of two further suspects who were already in custody, in the Rogava, Maisashvili and Khabeishvili cases. Among those identified were three former and one current officer of the Interior Ministry's Special Tasks Department. All five are charged with abuse of office involving violence; the suspect in Rogava's case is additionally charged with obstructing a journalist's professional activity through violence.

The prosecution followed years of complaints by local and international human rights organizations and the Georgian Public Defender, who pointed out that not a single police officer had been held accountable despite documented abuses during the 2024 crackdowns and verdicts against dozens of demonstrators under "protest" articles. Georgian officials, eventually acknowledging some violations, explained the absence of cases by the impossibility of identifying officers in uniform.

According to Tamar Oniani, head of the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, up to 167 people have been recognized as victims of police violence at the protests. Rogava said he does not trust the investigation.

Khabeishvili himself remains in custody: in May he was sentenced to 2.5 years on charges of "sabotage" and incitement to seize power for public statements made weeks and months before the October 4, 2024 municipal elections, during which he announced a "peaceful revolution."