Grigoriadis's verdict in Georgia's anti-foreign agents law protests will be announced "within a reasonable time"

Lazare Grigoriadis verdict

On April 8, the Tbilisi City Court was expected to announce the verdict in the case of Lazare Grigoriadis – the only arrested participant of the mass protests that took place in the capital of Georgia in March 2023 against the ruling party’s initiated foreign agents law. However, the judge stated that the decision on the timing of the verdict announcement would be made “within a reasonable time.”

Exactly a year has passed since Lazare Grigoriadis, aged 21, has been in prison since March 31.

From March 7 to 9, 2023, massive rallies against the foreign agent law were held in Tbilisi in front of the parliament building.

The investigation accuses Lazare Grigoriadis, who participated in these rallies, of causing harm to police officers’ health and destruction of state property.

According to the investigation, on March 7, 2023, during the rally, Grigoriadis twice threw Molotov cocktails (bottles containing flammable liquid) at the police, and on March 9, he set fire to a police car.

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If Grigoriadis is found guilty, he faces 7 to 11 years of imprisonment. Grigoriadis has already been sentenced to 1.5 years for domestic violence that occurred two years ago when he got into a fight with his father.

Grigoriadis’ lawyers and family are certain that the court will deliver a guilty verdict. However, they also hope that the country’s president will pardon Lazare.

Even before the case was discussed, leaders of the ruling party “Georgian Dream,” including former and current prime ministers Irakli Garibashvili and Irakli Kobakhidze, made statements against Grigoriadis. Lazare filed a lawsuit against them, seeking compensation for moral damages, but the court dismissed it.

In the footage used by the prosecution against Grigoriadis, a masked man wearing a cap and a hoodie is visible, making it impossible to identify him. Moreover, the expert who identified Grigoriadis in the video and wrote a “categorical conclusion” that it was indeed Grigoriadis, has only two years of work experience. Grigoriadis himself and his defense claim that he did not throw the Molotov cocktail.

The opposition and civil society representatives are convinced that the authorities simply “picked” Grigoriadis as the culprit because he “fits” into this role due to his tattoos, non-Georgian surname, and past convictions.

The sentencing of Lazare has been postponed several times. Once, the judge unexpectedly went on vacation, and another time, Grigoriadis refused to come to the courtroom and requested to participate remotely, which was denied.

After the hearing was rescheduled, Lazare’s mother, Tamta Kalandadze, said that he is struggling psychologically:

“Lazare told me he feels tense around crowds. When he tries to speak his mind, his thoughts wander, so he decided to participate in the final hearing remotely.”

In an exclusive interview with Radio Liberty in November 2023, Lazare himself also stated that being at the court hearing causes him intense anxiety.