Tbilisi City Court Approves Plea Bargain for Drug Arrest

On December 28, the Tbilisi City Court approved a plea bargain for Zura Nizharadze, a man arrested for possession of several types of club drugs, whose arrest reignited criticism of repressive drug policy in Georgia and prompted calls for systemic reforms of narcotics policy in the country.

As told to Civil.ge by Nizharadze’s lawyer, under the terms of the plea agreement, Nizharadze will serve one year in prison, followed by three years of probation.

On November 11, Nizharadze, 26, was arrested for the possession of 1.4628 grams of MDMA, 0.000105 grams of LSD, and 4.76617 grams of ketamine. He was facing a possible sentence of eight up to 20 years or life imprisonment under Part 6 of Article 260 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which provides for punishment for ‘particularly large quantities’ of drugs.

Nizharadze’s arrest was the subject of criticism from civil society organizations and several politicians who are critical of the state’s drug policy, which they say is too harsh.

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