On 13 April, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced Georgia’s former defense minister Irakli Okruashvili to five years in jail for engaging in mass violence during the June protests (Caucasus Watch reported) in Georgia, reported civil.ge. 

Okruashvili was charged with “organizing, directing and engaging in” a mass violence incident, although the court cleared him of the charge of “directing” the wrongdoing. The Tbilisi City Court announced that the list of offenses included “violence, ravage, property damage, resisting and assaulting [law enforcement] officials by means of firearms.”

Okruashvili’s imprisonment triggered mixed political feelings and thoughts. Irakli Kobakhidze, the ruling Georgian Dream’s Executive Secretary, said that “there was an obvious attempt of bursting into the Parliament in June, [which was] a very grave offense and there were no question marks here.”

The opposition politicians disagreed with the court decision. Grigol Vashadze of the United National Movement said that Georgian Dream has seized the unusual situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and is now trying to violate the agreement between the ruling party and the opposition. “The pandemic will be over, and all political prisoners should be released,” noted Vashadze.

Leader of European Georgia opposition party Giga Bokeria said that Irakli Okruashvili was and remains a political prisoner. “Georgia and the world will deal with this pandemic, then we will have elections and if an agreement is not reached, one of the key parts… is the freedom of all political prisoners, including Irakli Okruashvili, Giorgi Rurua and Gigi Ugulava, Ivanishvili will face the hardest fate”, he said.

EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell stated that “the circumstances around Irakli Okruashvili´s case are not conducive to building trust around the historic political agreement reached between all major political parties on 8 March and raises questions about the even-handedness of the follow-up to the events of 20 June 2019”. “Yesterday’s developments risk again increasing political polarisation at a crucial moment for the agreement’s implementation. We urge all sides to remain committed to the 8 March agreement”, Hartzell said.  

The US embassy in Georgia also condemned Okruashvili’s imprisonment. “The timing and circumstances of Irakli Okruashvili’s arrest raised concerns about political interference and the selective use of justice. The case casts a shadow over the impartial application of justice – a concern the 8 March Joint Statement (Caucasus Watch reported) was intended to dispel. We urge all signatories to uphold the letter and spirit of the  8 March agreement” read the embassy’s statement.

Okruashvili was arrested on 26 July 2019. The investigation revealed that during a violent attack on the parliament building, Okruashvili, accompanied by other people, called on the demonstrators to violently enter the building along with him (Caucasus Watch reported). Okruashvili returned to the political scene in Georgia a month before his arrest when he formed the Victorious Georgia political party (Caucasus Watch reported).