The Prosecutor General’s Office of Georgia has announced the identification and arrest of five law enforcement officers accused of attacking a politician, a protester, and a journalist during the 2024 anti-government protests.
The announcement, which followed an investigative report by TV Formula, marks the first publicly known case of police officers being held accountable for the violence committed by law enforcement during the demonstrations.
According to Thursday’s statement by the Prosecutor’s Office, those detained included three former riot police officers, as well as one currently employed, and a current employee of the Interior Ministry’s Security Police Department. The agency said that two of the five defendants were already in custody over other criminal and administrative offences, while the remaining three were arrested on Thursday.
The prosecution said ‘thousands of investigative and procedural actions’ have been carried out as part of these criminal cases, including the questioning of ‘more than 550 people as witnesses’.
One of the three episodes linked to the case concerns the brutal assault on Guram Rogava, who was then a journalist of the opposition-leaning TV Formula. He was attaked during the 29 November 2024 demonstrations held in response to the government’s EU U-turn. Rogava sustained serious injuries and was granted victim status, though his attacker had remained unpunished.
Two days before the statement by the Prosecutor General’s Office, Formula aired an investigative report citing a source within the Interior Ministry’s Special Tasks Department — the official name of the riot police — who identified a former employee of the same department as Rogava’s attacker. The TV channel did not disclose the identity, but noted that other sources had also confirmed it as the same individual.
After the investigation aired, both Rogava and Eliso Jariashvili — the author of the programme where the report was broadcasted — were summoned for questioning.
Shortly after the Thursday’s announcement from the Prosecutor General’s Office, Rogava himself reacted, saying it ‘raised many questions’. The journalist noted that although the statement did not include the initials of those detained, the person identified by Formula is not among them.
Rogava also stressed that it is important for the investigation to focus not only on the preparators, but also on those who gave orders and those who ‘protected the offenders’. In this context, he asked where the current and former senior officials of the riot police are, including the then-head of the department, Zviad Kharazishvili.
Mariam Bogveradze
Another episode of the case concerned the beating of young protester Zviad Maisashvili on 30 November during the same demonstrations. Footage widely circulated online showed a special forces officer kicking Maisashvili in the face while he was already lying on the ground.
The third episode concerned the violent assault on Levan Khabeishvili, the former chair of the opposition United National Movement (UNM), who is currently in custody. The incident occurred in spring 2024 during protests against controversial the foreign agents legislation, and he was left with visible facial injuries.
According to the statement, all five defendants will be charged with abuse of official powers committed with violence. In addition, the suspect linked to the Rogava episode will face an additional charge for violently and unlawfully obstructing a journalist in the performance of his professional duties.
The three incidents mentioned by the prosecutors are only part of a broader series of violence that took place during the 2024 protests. Demonstrators have described episodes of severe beatings, humiliation, threats, and robbing of belongings by police officers.
According to the Public Defender’s 2024 report, between 15 April 2024 and 1 March 2025, its representatives visited 624 individuals who had been detained or injured during the protests. Of these, 360 (57.7%) reported ill-treatment.
‘More specifically, among 182 people who were visited after the April–May 2024 protests, 93 (51.1%) reported abuse. Meanwhile, out of 442 individuals examined between 28 November 2024 and 1 March 2025, 267 (60%) said they had experienced ill-treatment’, the report read.
The ruling Georgian Dream party has repeatedly faced criticism over impunity for police officers involved in acts of violence. In response, the ruling party has argued that such violence was not widespread, acknowledging only isolated cases, while also claiming difficulties in identifying those involved.
