Bacho Akhalaia, former defense minister under the United National Movement government, has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison after being found guilty of “public incitement to overthrow the government” over a courtroom statement in which he said Bidzina Ivanishvili and the ruling Georgian Dream government “must be overthrown by all possible means.”
Tbilisi City Court Judge Romeo Tkeshelashvili announced the verdict on July 6, finding Akhalaia, who has already been in pretrial detention since December 2025 over his alleged role in the October 4 unrest, guilty under Article 317 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which criminalizes “public incitement to change the constitutional order of Georgia through violence, or to overthrow of state power.”
The verdict stems from remarks made during a closed court hearing in the October 4 case. On March 8, his wife, Ani Nadareishvili, published an audio recording of his comments on social media, in which Akhalaia is heard saying, “I believe that [Bidzina] Ivanishvili must be overthrown by all possible means.” Nadareishvili has not disputed the authenticity of the recording.
Akhalaia still awaits a verdict in the October 4 case, in which authorities accuse him of leading election-day unrest in Tbilisi, when a group of protesters, responding to calls by rally organizers, attempted to occupy the Atoneli Presidential Palace but were repelled by police. Authorities cite records of Akhalaia’s alleged phone and internet communications with other organizers of the rally as evidence.
A controversial figure during the United National Movement’s time in power, Akhalaia has been convicted in multiple cases related to his conduct while in office since Georgian Dream came to power in 2012. He was arrested that year and released in 2022 after serving sentences in separate cases involving abuse of power, organizing torture, and sexual abuse.
Also Read:
