Dear Prosecutor General,
I am concerned about the unfair, politically motivated convictions and misuse of the criminal justice system in thecase of “group public disturbance” of Georgian actor Andro Chichinadze, and 18 other protesters, all of them in detention since their arrest in December 2024 in relation to the pro-European protests in Tbilisi and now sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to two and half years.
The prosecution initially charged Andro Chichinadze and 18 other protesters with “group violence” under Article 225 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, punishable by up to nine years’ imprisonment for organizers and up to six years forparticipants. Their cases were divided into two group proceedings: one involving 11 defendants (Andro Chichinadze, Onise Tskhadadze, Jano Archaia, Ruslan Sivakov, Luka Jabua, Guram Mirtskhulava, Valeri Tetrashvili, Giorgi Terishvili, Irakli Kerashvili, Revaz Kinadze, and Sergei Kukarchuk) and the other eight defendants (Zviad Tsetskhladze, Vepkhia Kasradze, Vasil Kadzelashvili, Giorgi Gorgadze, Irakli Miminoshvili, Tornike Goshadze, Insaf
Aliev, and Nikoloz Javakhishvili). At the final hearing, the charges were abruptly reclassified as “group public disturbance” under Article 226, which is punishable by a fine, house arrest or imprisonment of up to three years.
While being charged with the group crime, nothing links them together as a group, there is no evidence of organized or coordinated violence or violation of public order at the time of their arrest.
The main evidence against Andro Chichinadze is video footage which appears to show him throwing a stick during a protest. The police have failed to demonstrate where the object landed and what harm, if any, it caused. The same video, and several others verified by Amnesty International, appear to show the police verbally abusing the protesters.
Andro Chichinadze did not receive a fair remand hearing, nor did the others. Their subsequent trials have been marred by serious fair trial violations. Government officials publicly described Andro Chichinadze and others as criminals, in violation of their presumption of innocence. Credible allegations of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment raised by some co-defendants during the trial were not addressed or investigated. In the context of the ongoing, government crackdown on dissent in Georgia, the detention and trial of Andro Chichinadze and his ten codefendants, appear intended to create a chilling effect on all protesters.
We urge you to quash the unfair convictions and release Andro Chichinadze and the 18 others pending a fair retrial. We further demand an immediate end to the misuse of Georgia’s criminal justice system to suppress dissent.
Your sincerely,