Eleven Protesters Remain in Custody: Judge Nino Galustashvili Upholds the Line of Repression

Another chapter in the tragic theater of Georgian justice: Today, Judge Nino Galustashvili ruled that all eleven individuals arrested during recent protests will remain in pretrial detention. The detainees are Andro Chichinadze, Onise Tsxadadze, Guram Mirtzkhulava, Jano Archaya, Luka Jabua, Ruslan Sivakov, Revaz Kiknadze, Giorgi Terashvili, Valeri Tetreshvili, Sergei Kucharchuk, and Irakli Kerashvili. They face charges under Article 225, Section 2 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which refers to participation in group violence—a charge that carries four to six years of imprisonment. Notably, none of the accused have admitted guilt.

A Fast-Track Trial – for the State, Not the Defense

The case has now entered the substantive trial phase. While the prosecution delivered its opening statement at the last hearing on April 24, today was meant for the defense’s opening remarks. However, one defense attorney, Guja Avsajanischvili, was unable to attend due to health reasons and formally requested a postponement. Judge Galustashvili? Not interested. She ruled that the lawyer could simply speak at the next session. Clearly, efficiency seems to trump fairness here—or perhaps it was just another symbolic display of judicial toughness.

“Risk of Repeat Offense”: The Prosecution’s Magic Formula

Particularly striking is the reasoning behind keeping all eleven defendants in custody. The prosecution argued that there remains a risk of repeated offenses and the possibility that the accused might flee. One might think these were high-profile international criminals—when in reality, they are citizens exercising their right to protest.

Judge Galustashvili solemnly declared that “justice is not crooked” and that the court would issue a decision that is “fair, lawful, and reasoned.” But let’s be honest: anyone who blindly trusts the Georgian prosecution probably still believes in fairy tales. That a court continues detention orders almost automatically, without new incriminating evidence, hardly qualifies as fair justice.

Political Context: Protests and Intimidation

These detentions don’t happen in a vacuum. For months now, mass protests have filled the streets of Tbilisi, opposing the government’s authoritarian drift, the infamous “foreign influence transparency” law, and the steady erosion of democratic standards. The government’s response has not been dialogue but repression: police violence, intimidation campaigns, absurd fines—and political trials clearly designed to wear down activists.

Why Personal Sanctions Matter: Holding Judges Accountable

Against this backdrop, it becomes increasingly clear how urgent targeted personal sanctions are against actors like Judge Nino Galustashvili. It’s not enough to sanction only politicians or security officials while the judiciary quietly acts as the enabler of authoritarian interests. As long as judges who systematically undermine basic democratic rights face no international consequences, the machinery of repression keeps running smoothly. Individual punitive measures—like those envisioned under the Megobari Act in the United States—could send a critical message: if you willingly make yourself a tool of political oppression, you will be personally held accountable.

Conclusion: Georgian Judiciary as an Arm of the Government?

What we are witnessing is a textbook example of how a judiciary can be systematically transformed into an arm of the executive. When courts uncritically adopt the prosecution’s narrative, when protesters are reflexively labeled as violent offenders, and when the term “risk of repeated offense” becomes a magic key to justify detention, one must seriously ask: how much independent justice remains in Georgia?

For the eleven young people now locked behind bars, this is no theoretical question. For them, it’s about freedom or prison, about justice or politically motivated punishment. And for the country? It’s about nothing less than its democratic future.