“In a 40-volume case, there are only two sentences where I am mentioned, and it says they don’t even know whether I was there or not. In my previous case, at least I knew what the prosecution considered a crime; there were verbs there. Here, there aren’t even verbs. What did I do? Tell me what I am being accused of… The only thing I understood from the actions is that Misha [Saakashvili] wrote about a shark,” Nika Gvaramia, a defendant in the so-called “sabotage case,” stated in court.

In response, former President Mikheil Saakashvili remarked, “Or the shark wrote about Misha.”

According to Gvaramia, the 40-volume case does not specify what he allegedly did. He said the same applies to other defendants.

“This isn’t my first case, and it isn’t the first case I know of. Misha had his marvels, and my cases were no less marvelous. But this case, I swear, it’s 40 volumes. I searched through them for where Nika Gvaramia, the subordinate, committed the crime with an accomplice, but I couldn’t find it. The indictment contains only dispositive verbs. What evidence are we supposed to consider? Honestly, in the 40 volumes, there are only two sentences where I am mentioned, and I asked my lawyer to read them.

“In the previous case, at least I knew what the prosecution considered a crime; there were verbs. Here, there are no verbs. What did I do? There are two sentences, and both say they don’t know whether I was there, but my name and surname are mentioned.

“Why are you questioning the 40 volumes, including the testimonies of Eka Gigauri and Nanuka Jorjoliani? Tell me what I am being accused of, where you think I was, and I will tell you if I was standing there, what I said, and what I did. You could have brought Lenin’s 40 volumes just as easily. How am I supposed to reason when nothing in this case is related? The only thing I understood from the actions is that Misha wrote about a shark,” said Gvaramia.

Saakashvili again replied: “Or the shark wrote about Misha.”

For context, in the so-called sabotage case, the Prosecutor General’s Office charged Mikheil Saakashvili, Giorgi Vashadze, Nika Gvaramia, Nika Melia, Zurab “GIRCH” Japaridze, Elene Khoshtaria, Mamuka Khazaradze, and Badri Japaridze.

Specifically:

• Giorgi Vashadze and Zurab “Girchi” Japaridze are charged under Article 318, Part 1, and Article 319 of the Criminal Code, covering sabotage and assistance to foreign hostile activities, punishable by 7 to 15 years imprisonment.

• Elene Khoshtaria is charged under Articles 318(1), 319, and 321prima(1), covering sabotage, providing material resources for the crime, and assistance to foreign hostile activities.

• Nika Gvaramia, Nika Melia, Mamuka Khazaradze, and Badri Japaridze are charged under Article 318(1), covering sabotage.

• Mikheil Saakashvili is charged under Article 317, covering calls to violently change Georgia’s constitutional order or overthrow state power.

Regarding preventive measures, Giorgi Vashadze and Zurab “Girchii” Japaridze have bail set at 30,000 GEL, while Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze have bail set at 1 million GEL.