A pretrial hearing for Aleko Elisashvili, one of the leaders of the "Strong Georgia" party, who is charged with politically motivated persecution, is taking place at the Tbilisi City Court.

During today’s session, the admissibility of evidence will be discussed, and it will also be decided whether the case will be transferred to the court for substantive consideration. Aleko Elisashvili is attending the session. As he stated during the hearing, he does not plead guilty.

Before the start of the session, Prosecutor Zviad Gubuladze informed journalists that on December 2, 2024, in Tbilisi, on Kostava Street, Aleko Elisashvili physically and verbally assaulted Ali Babayev, the chairman of the "National Congress of Azerbaijanis" and one of the founders of the political party "Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia," for political reasons. According to the prosecutor, there is a significant amount of evidence in the criminal case that fully reflects the fact of violence committed by Aleksandre Elisashvili. Gubuladze emphasized that the motive for the incident was political activity, as the victim, Ali Babayev, was one of the founders of a political party.

"An objective person who watches this video recording will be convinced that this was a one-sided attack. Aleksandre Elisashvili attacked the victim from behind, first verbally and then physically," Gubuladze stated.

Before the session, Aleko Elisashvili's lawyer, Zviad Kordzadze, spoke with the media.

"Aside from the victim's testimony, there is no evidence. The prosecution has not assessed such an important issue as the so-called victim's actions toward Aleko Elisashvili, the situation of violence during the arrest, and generally, this case can be said to not exist because there is no evidence in the case supporting politically motivated persecution.

How can the prosecutor say this was a politically motivated attack when there is no sound on the video, and how can he identify a politically motivated attack in a silent video? It’s a bit surprising," Kordzadze commented.

Aleko Elisashvili's pretrial detention was changed to a 4,000-lari bail following the prosecutor's request.

For reference, Aleko Elisashvili has been charged under Article 156, Part 2, Subparagraph (a) of the Criminal Code of Georgia (persecution for political activity committed with violence), which provides for imprisonment of up to three years.

The incident occurred on December 2. According to the prosecution, Aleko Elisashvili physically and verbally assaulted Ali Babayev, the chairman of the National Congress of Azerbaijanis and one of the founders of the political party "Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia," in the vicinity of Kostava Street in Tbilisi for political reasons.