Protester Archil Museliantsi was sentenced to four years in prison after a court found him guilty of damaging property, marking the 14th jail verdict issued against demonstrators detained during pro-EU and anti-Georgian Dream protests since November 2024.
Judge Giorgi Arevadze announced the verdict on August 22. Prosecutors claimed Museliantsi damaged the power source of a CCTV camera mounted on a pole outside parliament by setting fire to it, which would have made it impossible to identify protesters’ faces at the rally. The defense argued the video evidence in the case could not identify the masked individual as Museliantsi.
“I know they will convict me, they will carry out this task,” Museliantsi wrote in a letter before the verdict was announced, according to RFE/RL’s live reporting. “As for my future imprisonment, it does not pain me, because on the other side stands the country and its future. Even if I am sentenced to six years, I am ready to serve this unjust punishment, because for me, the homeland is dignity.”
Archil Museliantsi, 29, was detained on November 30, 2024, during the early turbulent days of the pro-EU demonstrations that erupted after Georgian Dream unilaterally halted the country’s EU accession process. He was initially arrested on administrative charges, which were later reclassified as criminal by the time his lawyer located him in the detention facility.
Museliantsi was charged under Article 187 of the criminal code (damage or destruction of property), specifically Part 2, which covers committing the crime by setting fire and is punishable by three to six years in prison.
Video evidence in the case, published by pro–GD media POSTV, shows an unidentified man with his face covered trying to damage the wires of a generator’s power source in front of parliament before setting fire to it with burning paper. Court proceedings indicated the damage was assessed at GEL 534 (about USD 200).
Museliantsi has pleaded not guilty, saying he was illegally detained and became a “victim of blackmail, threats and intimidation” in the detention facility. His lawyer, Dimitri Vardiashvili, said Museliantsi was physically assaulted before being taken there. While in detention, the lawyer said, his client was pressured to accuse opposition parties of the crime, which he refused to comply with.
Museliantsi has no close family to attend his trials or visit him in custody, but fellow activists have supported him since his detention. Primary care has come from Tsaro Oshakmashvili, 61, who met him during rallies before his arrest and has carried banners with his face at daily protests. With her encouragement, Museliantsi took the national university entrance exams to continue his studies from jail.
Archil Museliantsi is the 14th protester to face a jail sentence on criminal charges among those arrested since November 2024. Earlier convictions include those of Davit Khomeriki, Anatoli Gigauri, Temur Zasokhashvili, Davit Lomidze, Mzia Amaghlobeli, Anri Kakabadze, Anri Kvaratskhelia, Saba Jikia, Giorgi Mindadze, Mate Devidze, Denis Kulanin, Daniel Mumladze, and Guram Khutashvili.
Seven more remain in prison after being convicted over their involvement in the spring 2024 protests against the foreign agents law, including Omar Okribelashvili, Saba Meparishvili, and Pridon Bubuteishvili, who were convicted in January; Davit Koldari, Giorgi Kuchuashvili, and Giorgi Okmelashvili, who were convicted in February, as well as Irakli Megvinetukhutsesi, convicted in December.
Eight individuals, including six active opposition politicians, were recently sentenced to prison terms of several months for defying the Georgian Dream investigative commission.
Two persons – Tedo Abramovi and Giorgi Akhobadze – have been acquitted of serious drug charges linked to the protests and activism.
Politpatimrebi.ge, a civic platform documenting the cases of detainees, currently lists over 60 persons who were jailed in 2024-2025 and are considered political prisoners.
The verdicts come as no police officer has been held accountable despite numerous documented abuses during dispersals. Dozens of protesters remain in pre-trial custody, awaiting their rulings on similar or other protest-related charges.
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