Professor and four students in Batumi, Georgia remain detained over pro-European protests
Arrest of professor and four students in Batumi
In Georgia, four students and the dean of Batumi Arts University, Mamuka Jorbenadze, were ordered to remain in custody on December 11, pending trial. Authorities accuse them of group assault but have not disclosed details about a prior political dispute that reportedly preceded the incident.
If convicted, they face up to two years in prison.
Professor Mamuka Jorbenadze and his students—22-year-old Giorgi Davitadze, 20-year-old Andro Kakabadze, 21-year-old David Gianidze, and 20-year-old Guram Mikeladze—are active participants in Georgia’s pro-European movement.
Professor Mamuka Jorbenadze supported university students when they decided to strike in protest of the government’s November 28 decision to halt EU membership talks until 2028.
The incident that led to the arrest of Jorbenadze and four students occurred on December 3, after the students hung a protest banner on the university building. Lecturer Tea Tsaguria opposed the act, removed the banner, and sparked a confrontation.
According to Batumelebi, the students described the events during a court hearing:
“Tea Tsaguria opposed our strike, calling us supporters of the opposition ‘National Movement’ party and criminals. She showed us footage from 2012, while Mamuka Jorbenadze defended us.”
The situation escalated when a verbal altercation erupted between Jorbenadze and Tsaguria. Tsaguria then called her husband, Irakli Devadze, a senior official at Batumi City Hall and deputy director of the Municipal Service Development Agency.
Devadze arrived at the university with his associate, Irakli Nakashidze.
Prosecutors allege that professor Jorbenadze subsequently attacked Devadze and Nakashidze.
During the court hearing, the defendants’ lawyer sought to draw the judges’ attention to several key points:
1. Threats and insults sent to the professor: The lawyer presented evidence showing that Irakli Devadze had sent threats and insults to Professor Jorbenadze via text messages before arriving at the university. However, the court did not consider this evidence.
The lawyer submitted screenshots of the messages, which included the following: “You bastard and fascist, I will punish you in front of everyone.”
2. Delay in investigation: The lawyer questioned why the incident occurred on December 3 but the investigation only began three days later, on December 6.
Journalists from Batumelebi also raised the question of how evidence of physical violence was established given that the forensic examination was conducted at least three days after the incident. The court did not provide an answer to this inquiry.
3. Video evidence implicates Nakashidze: Surveillance camera footage clearly shows that Irakli Nakashidze, who had come to the university with Devadze, was the initiator of the physical violence. The lawyer stated:
“This ‘bandit,’ this ‘titushka,’ was specifically brought there to punish the disobedient professor. Devadze insulted the professor, and Nakashidze started the fight. The students saw their professor being attacked and, evidently, tried to protect him,” Batumelebi quotes the lawyer as saying.
4. The lawyers urged the judges to recognize that there was no need for the detainees to remain in pretrial detention.
“This incident took place on December 3, the investigation began on December 6, the court ruled on their arrest on December 7, and they were detained on December 9. Given this timeline, what is the point of keeping them under arrest?” said lawyer Shota Khorava.
However, none of the lawyers’ arguments were accepted by the court.
A large group of Batumi residents gathered outside the city court building to show support for the professor and students.
One of the arrested students, Anri Kakabadze, is a talented pianist and a winner of numerous competitions.
Nino Jvania, a lecturer at the Tbilisi State Conservatory and pianist, published a video of Anri Kakabadze’s performance and expressed her outrage over his arrest.
“Anri Kakabadze, a first-year piano student and pupil of Professor Nino Katamadze, is a gifted pianist and a laureate of many national and international competitions. I was a member of the entrance examination committee when all five members awarded him the highest score of 100. And now Anri will have to spend two months in prison?
I demand the immediate release of all five detainees! How could it have come to this!“
