Mate Devidze Sentenced to 4.5 Years in Jail
Tbilisi City Court Judge Nino Galustashvili sentenced Mate Devidze, 21, to four years and six months in prison. The detained protester was tried on charges of assaulting police officers during a rally dispersal early on November 19.
The verdict was delivered on a tense day in Tbilisi City Court, with Devidze’s supporters seen falling to the ground in the court corridors and being forcibly removed from the building by bailiffs. Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, was also present at the hearing, which supporters protested was held in an unreasonably small courtroom.
“You sacrifice us to obey the commands of your commander,” Devidze told the court in his emotional concluding remarks before excusing himself from the courtroom, saying he “cannot hear this verdict.”
“I won’t be seeing you in a while,” the activist told supporters, some half an hour before the verdict was announced.
Emotional scenes came from the court of Davidze’s family members and supporters breaking down in tears after hearing the verdict.
“We won’t forget [Devidze] and he will always be a symbol of dignity for us,” Salome Zurabishvili told journalists after the verdict, calling the verdict “shameful.”
“Everyone will pay the price for [the verdict] tomorrow, the day after,” Zurabishvili noted.
Devidze, who spent seven months in pre-trial detention, was convicted under Article 3531 of the Georgian Criminal Code, which relates to assaulting a police officer in the line of duty.
The activist was among the demonstrators arrested in the morning hours of November 19, during a police dispersal of an all-night opposition rally on Tbilisi’s Melikishvili Avenue demanding new elections amid fraud concerns following the disputed October 26, 2024, vote.
He was initially detained on administrative charges. However, when the two-day administrative detention period ended and Devidze was due for release, the charges were reclassified as criminal offenses, and he was remanded into custody. Devidze, a young musician who played in a band and commuted to Tbilisi from the eastern Georgian town of Telavi to take part in post-election protests, turned 21 following his arrest.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs claimed that during the November 19 protest, Devidze physically attacked officers and inflicted bodily harm by hitting them with a stick.
Video footage from the scene shows Devidze running during a dispersal and frantically swinging a stick-like object back in the direction of police officers pursuing him.
The defense argued that Devidze acted in instinctive self-defense, and Devidze himself has said that he was swinging the object out of fear, without an intention to injure anyone. During the final court hearing, he stated that he had gone without sleep for two days at the time of the dispersal that led to his arrest.
Three police officers — Giorgi Estatishvili, Bidzina Zhamerashvili, and Levan Kodelashvili — testified in court, claiming that Devidze attacked them.
Bidzina Zhamerashvili claimed on February 7 that Devidze struck him with a stick when he was heading to check for a confrontation involving politician Nika Melia and another police officer. On February 19, Giorgi Estatishvili testified that he was struck with what he believed was the handle of a flag, after which he looked back to see Devidze with the object. Estatishvili stated that he experienced pain in his face and shoulder, as well as harm to his face, but did not specify the nature or severity of the harm when questioned in court or by journalists.
On March 24, Levan Kodelashvili said he saw a young man with curly hair swinging a stick, which hit him once on the wrist, causing minor redness. He confirmed he did not require medical treatment but described the strike as painful.
Devidze’s lawyers, however, have challenged the testimonies, citing inconsistencies. They point to police witness Estatishvili, who they say could not identify himself in the footage of the alleged incident. Additionally, they note that Zhamerashvili claimed he was struck from the front, yet reported feeling pain and sustaining injuries to his back.
The verdict comes on Day 197 of non-stop Georgian resistance, as protesters prepare for a tense few weeks with several more rulings expected on the cases of detained demonstrators.
“To look for light in endless darkness,” Devidze said in his final words before leaving the courtroom on June 12.
More to follow…
Also Read:
- Liveblog: Resistance
- 11/01/2025 – Judge Remands Eight Protesters in Custody, Sparking Outcry
- 10/01/2025 – Court Remands in Custody 11 Protesters as Supporters Rally Outside
- 21/11/2024 – 21-Year-Old Protester Faces Seven Years in Prison for Allegedly Attacking Police
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