Pre-Trial Detention Ordered for UNM's Levan Khabeishvili
By Liza Mchedlidze
Monday, September 15, 2025
The Tbilisi City Court, presided over by Judge Pikria Sikturashvili, has issued two rulings in connection with ongoing political and criminal proceedings involving opposition figures.
Levan Khabeishvili, Chair of the political council of the United National Movement (UNM), was placed in pre-trial detention on charges of bribery and incitement to overthrow the state government, prosecuted under Article 317 of the Criminal Code of Georgia.
During the hearing, Khabeishvili's defense team proposed alternatives to detention, including bail, electronic monitoring with a bracelet, house arrest, and restrictions on making public statements. These requests were rejected by the court.
Meanwhile, Murtaz Zodelava, an opposition politician arrested on charges of obstructing an investigation, was granted release on 25,000 GEL bail. He is accused of illegally interfering with a State Security Service investigator and attempting to conceal Khabeishvili's mobile phone, which was subject to a search warrant, thereby obstructing a full and objective investigation. Zodelava's defense had asked for his release without preventive measures, but the court declined.
The Prosecutor's Office of Georgia also released a statement addressing public speculation regarding Khabeishvili's seized phone. Officials clarified that the device has not yet been examined and that no forensic inspection has been scheduled at this stage. The Office emphasized that comments made by the prosecutor about the general challenges of unlocking iPhone models were misinterpreted by media and social networks, leading to the spread of "false information" suggesting the device could not be opened. The statement underlined that such misrepresentation amounted to an effort to "spread disinformation and discredit the institution."
In response to the court's ruling, Tina Bokuchava, Chair of the United National Movement, sharply criticized Khabeishvili's detention, calling it proof that a "Russian-style dictatorship" has taken hold in Georgia. She said that arresting politicians for their public statements is characteristic of authoritarian rule.
Bokuchava repeated the same public appeal made earlier by Khabeishvili, declaring that employees of the State Security Service and other law enforcement officers who "do not raise their hands against peaceful demonstrators, act within the law, and stand with the people" would receive a reward of 200,000 after what she described as the end of the current regime.
"This is the same statement that Levan Khabeishvili made a month and a half ago," Bokuchava said. "The arrest of a politician for this public statement is proof that Ivanishvili has established a Russian-style dictatorship in the country. No one is afraid of such autocratic Russian methods. Today is also proof of this. Everyone is aware that now there is a decisive battle for our country, for our children, for our freedom, for our European future, for the Georgian flag, for the name of Giorgi Antsukhelidze - for everything that Georgia stands for."
