Ex-head of Georgian Defense Ministry sentenced to 2.5 years in prison
The Tbilisi City Court sentenced former Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia to two years and six months in prison for public calls for the overthrow of the current Georgian government.
This is reported by the Georgian news agency Interpressnews.
Judge Romeo Tkheshelashvili of the city court announced the decision. Akhalaia was accused of stating during a court hearing on February 16, 2026, that Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling party Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia, should be overthrown.
Akhalaia himself was not present in court during the sentencing.
Akhalaia, who served as Georgia's defense minister from 2009 to 2012 during the rule of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, was detained in December 2025. He was charged with organizing the storming of the presidential palace in Tbilisi on October 4, 2025. According to the investigation, he coordinated the actions of the organizers of the mass rally on October 4 by phone. A decision on this case has not yet been made.
