A court hearing for politician Elene Khoshtaria, accused of damaging the election banner of Tbilisi mayoral candidate Kaha Kaladze, is underway at the Tbilisi City Court.
At today’s session, Judge Arsen Kalatozishvili is to consider the imposition of a preventive measure for Elene Khoshtaria.
The prosecution has requested the court to impose a 5,000 GEL bail for Elene Khoshtaria, with 20 days granted for her to pay the bail.
According to the prosecutor’s explanation, Elene Khoshtaria damaged a political party’s banner, “resulting in significant damage to the affected political party in the amount of 570 GEL.” Additionally, the prosecutor stated that there is evidence of the accused continuing criminal activity, and it should be taken into account that Khoshtaria deliberately damaged the banner.
The prosecutor further noted that attention should be drawn to the fact that the accused has been repeatedly subjected to administrative penalties for resisting police and petty hooliganism. According to the prosecutor, this gives the prosecution grounds to believe that she is inclined to commit such crimes. Additionally, there is a risk of Khoshtaria absconding and failing to appear in court. The prosecutor stated that a 5,000 GEL bail is necessary to neutralize these risks.
The accused politician is not attending the court hearing as a sign of protest and has also refused legal representation as a form of protest. Subsequently, a public defender was appointed for her. However, as the public defender, Irakli Beniam, stated at the court hearing, Elene Khoshtaria also refused the services of the public defender. Consequently, he has had no communication with her, and thus, the accused’s position is unknown to him. Beniam clarified that, since the case materials were provided to him, he can state that there is no basis for Elene Khoshtaria’s detention, nor is there any basis for imposing any preventive measure.
For reference, Elene Khoshtaria, one of the leaders of the “Coalition for Change,” has been charged with intentional damage to someone else’s property.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, an investigation conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs established that on September 14 of this year, in Tbilisi, the accused deliberately damaged three banners placed at the election headquarters of the political party “Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia,” causing property damage amounting to 570 GEL.
Elene Khoshtaria was detained by law enforcement on September 15 of this year. She was charged under Part 1 of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (damaging someone else’s property, causing significant damage), which provides for imprisonment from one to five years.
The Prosecutor’s Office requests a 5,000 GEL bail as a preventive measure for Elene Khoshtaria – the detained politician is not attending the hearing as a sign of protest
