Georgian opposition politician Elene Khoshtaria has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison for damaging an election banner featuring Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze.
Judge Giorgi Arevadze announced the verdict on Tuesday. The sentence is calculated from the date of her detention, 15 September 2025, meaning that Khoshtaria will spend another year in prison.
Khoshtaria’s detention came shortly before Georgia’s local elections in October 2025, when Kaladze was seeking re-election as Tbilisi Mayor. Kaladze also serves as the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
On 14 September, the politician wrote ‘Russian Dream’ on a campaign banner placed on the facade of Kaladze’s campaign headquarters. The phrase is a play on words frequently used by critics of Georgian Dream, accusing it of bringing the country closer to Russia.
Robin Fabbro
Khoshtaria’s actions were in solidarity with 23-year-old Megi Diasamidze, who was detained a few days earlier for spray painting the same words on another of Kaladze’s banners. Diasamidze was later released on bail pending her trial.
Bail was also imposed on Khoshtaria, however, she refused to pay it in protest and has remained in pretrial detention to this day. Khoshtaria also refused to attend court hearings, stating that she did not recognise the current authorities, whose legitimacy has been questioned by a number of critics following the disputed 2024 parliamentary elections.
Xandie (Alexandra) Kuenning
According to RFE/RL, Judge Arevadze said while announcing the decision that Khoshtaria had not admitted guilt nor offered compensation for the damage caused to the banners. He also noted that the politician had not paid any of the 16 administrative fines previously imposed on her in various cases.
The damage cited by Arevadze amounted to ₾570 ($210), according to the Prosecutor’s Office, which had charged Khoshtaria with ‘damaging or destroying another person’s property which has resulted in substantial damage’.
Khoshtaria’s lawyer, Elene Maghlakelidze, described the ruling as ‘completely unlawful and unfounded’.
‘This decision clearly does not concern only Elene Khoshtaria and her fate, or the issue of leaving her four children without a mother. It concerns society as a whole. Today, the system has once again shown how it treats critical voices’, she added, as quoted by IPN.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
The court has yet to announce a verdict in a similar case involving Diasamidze. She has been charged under the same article as Khoshtaria, which carries a minimum sentence of one year and a maximum of five years in prison, while a fine or community service are also possible penalties.
While in prison, Khoshtaria has also been charged in the so-called ‘sabotage’ case, in which seven other opposition politicians have also been indicted. She faces multiple charges, including the most serious one carrying a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
In March, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning ‘politically motivated’ arrests in Georgia, including that of Khoshtaria, and called on the authorities to release those detained on such grounds.
