Former Georgian Euro-integration minister arrested over alleged pavement obstruction

Former Georgian Euro-integration minister arrested

A Tbilisi court found former minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration Alexi Petriashvili guilty of an administrative offence and sentenced him to three days in detention for “violating public order on a pavement”. The ruling was delivered by judge Tornike Kapanadze. Petriashvili was handcuffed in the courtroom.

Georgia’s Interior Ministry accused Petriashvili of standing on the pavement outside the parliament building on 17 December 2025 and “artificially” obstructing pedestrian movement.

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Petriashvili was represented in court by lawyer Irakli Abesadze, who argued that law enforcement agencies and the courts were applying different standards to citizens taking part in anti-government protests.

According to Abesadze, in other cases people gathering or standing on pavements does not result in administrative charges. In his view, such measures are applied only to demonstrators protesting against the policies of Georgian Dream.

The lawyer also said that, in this specific case, pedestrians were still able to move freely and the pavement had not been completely blocked.

Before the court announced its ruling, Alexi Petriashvili said he did not consider himself a lawbreaker and described the case as politically motivated persecution.

“I do not under any circumstances consider myself a violator of this senseless law. The system is trying to punish a person who wants to express protest. I do not want to say that ‘we woke up in Chelyabinsk’ — I did a great deal to prevent that — but I view the decision to declare me a lawbreaker as political persecution,” Petriashvili said.

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Four court hearings linked to alleged “road and pavement blocking” during protests outside parliament took place today at Tbilisi City Court. Two people received administrative detention sentences, one person was given an oral warning and one case was dismissed. All rulings were delivered by judge Tornike Kapanadze.

The case against Davit Papashvili was dismissed, with the court noting that he has held disability status since 2020. Natia Chelidze was sentenced to two days of administrative detention, while former minister Alexi Petriashvili received a three-day sentence. Sandro Sekhniashvili received a verbal warning.

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‘This practice is closer to authoritarianism than democracy’

Continuous demonstrations have been ongoing in Georgia since 28 November 2024. Thousands of people took to the streets after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of Georgian Dream announced that the government would not raise the issue of EU accession talks for the next four years.

Since then, Georgian Dream has repeatedly restricted freedom of expression through new legislation. The measures include bans on wearing masks at demonstrations and using pyrotechnics, as well as the introduction of criminal liability for repeated road blockages.

The most controversial changes came with amendments effectively banning gatherings on pavements. Under the new rules, organisers must notify the Interior Ministry five days in advance of any gathering or demonstration on a pavement. The ministry is also empowered to propose an alternative time and location for protests.

In addition, administrative detention has been introduced for violations of the new regulations for the first time.