Opposition Leader Aleko Elisashvili Charged with Attempted Terrorism
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Aleko Elisashvili, an opposition politician and leader of the Lelo/Strong Georgia alliance, faces up to 15 years in prison after prosecutors charged him with attempted terrorism over an alleged attempt to set fire to the Tbilisi City Court chancellery. His lawyer said Elisashvili acknowledges the act but does not consider it a criminal offense.
Elisashvili was arrested on November 29, 2025. Authorities initially said the case fell under Article 19-187 of Georgia's Criminal Code, which covers attempted damage or destruction of property. On November 30, the Prosecutor's Office upgraded the charge to Article 19-323, which defines an attempted act of terrorism. This charge carries a potential prison sentence of 10 to 15 years. Tbilisi City Court Judge Lela Maridashvili approved the prosecutors' request to place Elisashvili in pretrial detention.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, the incident occurred around 4 a.m. on November 29. Investigators said Elisashvili, masked and armed with a firearm, ammunition, and other items intended for a terrorist act, arrived at the Tbilisi City Court. "Using a hammer, he shattered the glass of the exterior façade of the court's chancellery building and entered the interior of the premises," the statement said.
Footage released by the Prosecutor's Office shows a man entering the chancellery at about 4:10 a.m., pouring liquid from two bottles onto desks, documents, and other office areas. The video shows a confrontation with a court bailiff, followed by two additional bailiffs subduing the man. Elisashvili's face is not visible in the footage, and it does not show how the man entered or whether he broke the glass.
Elisashvili's lawyer said the politician admitted to the act as a "deliberate form of protest," adding that he "only regrets that he was minutes short of completing the job." The lawyer also alleged that Elisashvili was "brutally beaten" after being handcuffed, sustaining bruises around both eyes despite "no longer posing a threat."
The Lelo/Strong Georgia alliance condemned the act as "unacceptable" and "unjustified," while noting that Elisashvili "has repeatedly been a victim of injustice and violence by the regime" and that the act reflected "a desperate act by one individual against the regime."
Elisashvili's Citizens party joined the Lelo/Strong Georgia alliance ahead of the October 26, 2024 parliamentary election. He remained a member even as other parties and members left the coalition over participation in the partially boycotted 2025 municipal vote. Elisashvili also briefly fought against Russian forces in Ukraine shortly after the full-scale invasion in 2022.
The politician previously attracted international attention in 2024 after punching Mamuka Mdinaradze, then a Georgian Dream MP and parliamentary majority leader during the heated discussion of the Foreign Agents bill.
