A Georgian court has sentenced 61-year-old Zurab Menteshashvili to nine months in prison for blocking a road during an anti-government protest.
According to Publika, Judge Nino Galustashvili sentenced Menteshashvili on Friday. Taking into account the time he had already served in detention since November 2025, Menteshashvili is expected to be released in two months.
‘I love my homeland, I will do everything for it, and if this was a crime, I didn’t know’, Menteshashvili said in court, according to Publika. I’m standing here and I can’t do anything else, arrest me for the fourth time if you want’,
Menteshashvili was the first Georgian protester to be criminally charged with ‘repeatedly blocking the road’ during protests.
In October, Georgia’s Parliament, entirely controlled by the ruling Georgian Dream party and its satellite groups, fast-tracked legislative amendments introducing increased punishments in several cases, including covering one’s face during a protest (with a mask or any other means); possessing tear gas, nerve agents, or poisonous substances at a protest; and partially or fully blocking a road if police decide it is unnecessary based on the number of demonstrators.
In all such cases, first-time offences will be punishable by up to 15 days of administrative detention, which previously was just an alternative measure to a fine. Repeat offences will be treated as criminal acts, punishable by up to one year in prison, and subsequent repeat offences by up to two years.
Yousef Bardouka
