Protesters Tornike Toshkhua and Mindia Shervashidze, who were each sentenced in April to one year in prison after being found guilty of group violence, have been granted early release after an appellate court reduced their sentences.
According to Publika, the appellate court upheld the guilty verdict but reduced the prison terms to expire on July 1, resulting in their release nearly two months earlier than scheduled. While Toshkhua was reportedly released directly from the courtroom, Shervashidze was expected to be released from prison within hours.
The pair were arrested on August 16, 2025, over an incident that took place on August 1 on Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue in front of the parliament building, where anti-government demonstrators have been gathering as part of continuous protests since November 2024. They were accused of “group violence” against the late football player and Georgian Dream supporter Beka Gotsiridze, with authorities claiming they attacked him during the rally. Protesters and bystanders, however, alleged that Gotsiridze provoked the altercation and had attempted to pull out a knife, which he dropped as he fell. Gotsiridze died suddenly in February at the age of 37.
Toshkhua and Shervashidze, who had spent nearly eight months in pre-trial detention, were found guilty and sentenced to one year in prison on April 1, 2026, and had less than five months left to serve. The appellate court’s decision, which marked a rare instance of a lower-court ruling being modified in a protest-related case, resulted in their early release.
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