UNM's Khabeishvili Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Prison on Sabotage and Coup Incitement Charges
By Messenger Staff
Friday, May 22, 2026
Opposition politician Levan Khabeishvili of the United National Movement was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on May 21 by Tbilisi City Court Judge Irakli Khuskivadze on sabotage and coup incitement charges over public statements he made weeks and months ahead of Georgia's October 4, 2025, municipal elections, during which he had been calling for "peaceful revolution."
Khabeishvili, a former UNM chair, was detained on September 11, 2025, and charged with bribery and coup incitement. Prosecutors alleged he had promised USD 200,000 to police officers who would side with demonstrators on October 4 and act as whistleblowers, and that he was "systematically calling on citizens from television and through social media to commit acts such as overthrowing the state government, for which he would determine a specific date and place."
The judge found him guilty of coup incitement but reclassified the bribery charges at the last minute, convicting him instead under part 1 of Article 318 of the criminal code, which covers "interference with the normal functioning of public or other enterprises, institutions, organisations or agencies for the purpose of weakening Georgia."
At a May 20 hearing, Khabeishvili rejected all charges, saying the case rested solely on his public statements. "There is nothing in the case except my public statements. There is no victim in this case, there is no object to whom I would have transferred anything, and there is no benefit that I would have received," he said, adding that prosecutors had failed to present evidence of any covert or illegal actions. "Because of perceptions of the Prosecutor, a politician should be in prison," he said.
In the same case, Judge Khuskivadze also sentenced UNM member Murtaz Zodelava to nine months in prison for obstructing an investigation, including allegedly attempting to interfere with a State Security Service investigator and conceal evidence, including Khabeishvili's mobile phone. Zodelava is already serving a seven-year sentence over charges linked to the October 4 unrest near the presidential palace.
The October 4 events, which took place on the day of the partially boycotted municipal elections, grew into unrest when a group of protesters attempted to occupy the presidential palace following calls from rally organizers. Police dispersed the crowd with pepper spray, tear gas, and water cannons and arrested up to 60 people on coup- and violence-related charges. Georgian Dream officials described the events as a foreign-orchestrated coup attempt. The rally had originally been announced in July 2025 by prominent opera singer and activist Paata Burchuladze, who called it "the day of peacefully overthrowing Bidzina Ivanishvili."
The court delivered its first verdicts in the broader October 4 unrest case on May 7, including a multi-year sentence for Burchuladze. Dozens more cases remain pending.
