The condition of the defendant in the Tbilisi riots case worsened amid a hunger strike.

At the court hearing in the case of the storming of the presidential palace in Tbilisi, the defense reported the deterioration of the health of Zurab Chavchanidze, who has been on a hunger strike since November in protest of his arrest.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," on October 4, 2025, the day of municipal elections, thousands of people gathered in central Tbilisi. After opera singer Paata Burchaladze declared that power in Georgia belongs to the people, clashes broke out between protesters and security forces near the presidential palace. Security forces used riot gear, while protesters used firecrackers. Six demonstrators and 21 security forces were hospitalized, and another 30 people received medical treatment on the spot. Police later opened a criminal investigation into calls to overthrow the government, attacks on police officers, and the storming of the palace.

A hearing was held today in the Tbilisi City Court for 14 people accused of participating in the storming of the presidential palace, InterPressNews reports.

The defendants participated in the hearing remotely from their prisons. The lawyer for the accused Zurab Chavchanidze, who has been on a hunger strike since November 2025, informed the court before the hearing that her client had become ill yesterday, January 4, the publication writes. Vladimir Gvelesiani, Sergo Megrelishvili, Zurab Chavchanidze, Giorgi Rurua, Amiran Dolishvili, Anton Vardanidze, Giorgi Korkia, Alexander Chilachava, Genadi Kupreishvili, Lasha Ivanadze, Levan Jikia, Sulkhan Tugushi, Khvicha Gogokhia, and Ramaz Mamuladze have been charged under Articles 19-22 and Part 2 of Article 225. id="#wk_ft3" contenteditable="false"> 3 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, the publication states.

Zurab Chavchanidze is a refugee from Abkhazia. On November 27, 2025, at a court hearing, he announced his hunger strike. "The dead don't die twice. I already died in Sukhumi and continue to live only for love," Novosti Gruzii quoted him as saying that day.

Chavchanidze declared a hunger strike in protest against the court's decision, which that day fully granted the prosecutor's motion and refused to release the detainees on bail.

None of the 14 defendants has admitted guilt, and as evidence of some of their guilt, the prosecutor's office presented video footage of the defendants calmly entering and exiting the courtyard of the presidential palace after the fence around the premises had been torn down, the publication stated.

As a reminder, municipal elections were held in all municipalities of Georgia on October 4, 2025. Candidates from the ruling Georgian Dream party were elected mayor in all 64 cities where elections were held, receiving 100% of the vote in 26 of them. These elections will determine the political balance in Georgia for the coming years, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Municipal Elections in Georgia on October 4, 2025".

The "Caucasian Knot" has compiled materials about the recent municipal elections and protests by opposition supporters on the thematic page "Georgia: Post-Election Protests".