Lawyer Giorgi Kondakhishvili told journalists after the charges were filed against Levan Khabeishvili that the evidence in the case consists of police statements and interrogation protocols. In these, three employees of the Special Tasks Department (GDD) noted that they heard Levan Khabeishvili’s public interview where he spoke about a reward, which they perceived as an insult and, in their assessment, constituted a bribe offer to the police.
Speaking after leaving the State Security Service (SSS), the lawyer stated that they do not agree with the charges, consider the detention to be politically motivated, and expect that Levan Khabeishvili will face detention as a preventive measure.
“Levan Khabeishvili has been charged under two articles of the Criminal Code. One article accuses him of allegedly calling for the violent overthrow of the government, and the second relates to publicly offering a bribe to thousands of police officers. Of course, both charges are legally absurd. The evidence we have managed to review in the case consists of police statements and interrogation protocols, where three GDD employees state that they heard Levan’s public interview about a reward, took it as an insult, and, in their assessment, it constitutes a bribe offer to the police.
Regarding the second charge, in public spaces, an SSS employee also provided a statement claiming that Levan Khabeishvili was calling for a peaceful revolution and peaceful overthrow, and based on this statement, the second charge was filed, which pertains to the violent overthrow of the government. Naturally, we reviewed the charges, and Levan did not agree with them. He believes this is a politically motivated order, and as a lawyer, I confirm that there is no criminal element in his actions. We await the court hearing regarding the preventive measure, where we will try to present our arguments to the court,” Kondakhishvili said.
According to him, the detention order for Khabeishvili was issued by Judge Fikria Sikturashvili. The lawyer stated that the judge’s reasoning was entirely irrelevant.
“I believe the reasoning is completely irrelevant. She writes: ‘Based on the presented evidence, I consider Levan Khabeishvili a danger to society, and his detention is necessary because he may continue criminal activities and overthrow the government.’ This is roughly the context of Judge Sikturashvili’s reasoning,” Kondakhishvili stated.
Giorgi Kondakhishvili: In the interrogation protocols, three employees of the Special Tasks Department state that they heard Khabeishvili’s interview about a reward, took it as an insult, and consider it a bribe offer – the charges are absurd
