On October 4, I was at the President's Palace. By 19:00, journalists arrived, followed by protesters - they immediately began verbal abuse, shaking the fence, and soon broke in. Before that, they were kicking and punching, - this was stated by the prosecution witness, employee of the Special Objects Protection Service Giorgi Tsevclidze, during the court hearing where the trial of Kakhaber Kvachantiradze, Simon Makharadze, and 11 other detained persons in the October 4 case is ongoing.

As the witness noted, the protesters were throwing “stones, an uprooted iron pole from outside, everything they could get their hands on.”

“My duties include protecting the palace. On October 4, I was at the President's Palace. By 19:00, journalists arrived, followed by protesters. They immediately began verbal abuse, shaking the fence, and soon broke in. Before that, they were kicking and punching. According to video footage and investigation findings, the identified persons were dressed in black and carrying Georgian flags. Beka Machavariani was kicking and punching an employee, Giorgi Tatarashvili. After hitting him several times, he fell backward, and then more people came in.

Also, one of them was wearing a sleeveless vest and a colorful top, who was also physically assaulting and kicking and punching, confronting our employee. They sustained physical injuries. A third person soon followed, wearing a mask and helmet. He came at me. He was holding a tear gas canister, which hit me in the shoulder, and I felt pain. I think the filter of the tear gas canister was made of iron. Not even a minute had passed when the Ministry of Internal Affairs came to our aid - specifically the Special Tasks Department. They took the measures provided by law, after which the protesters left the territory.

Then other participants arrived, including recognizable faces: Irakli Nadiradze, Murtaz Zodelava, Paata Burchuladze. After their calls, there was another break-in; they were saying ‘the palace is ours,’ ‘hand over the keys to the palace,’ ‘we will not retreat.’ They themselves entered the yard. Then other units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs joined. In parallel, they were throwing stones at us, an uprooted iron pole from outside, everything they could get their hands on - I remember that. Those outside were also throwing. Employees were injured. Later, state protection employees stood at the door, with the Special Tasks Department in front. Gradually, more forces were added. Finally, with water cannons, the protesters were pushed back,” - stated the witness.

According to him, no one used verbal abuse against anyone, and physical response was only given “when they were forced to do so.”

“I personally did not hit anyone - I remember that exactly. As for the others, whether they were kicking or punching, I don’t remember specifically,” - noted the witness.

In response to Prosecutor Roin Khintibidze’s question, the witness stated that “the protesters entered the yard, came almost to the door, but did not enter inside [the building].”

The witness was also questioned by lawyers. In response to lawyer Guranda Kurdovanidze’s question, Tsevclidze noted that on October 4, the security employees did not have any special assignment.

According to him, on October 4 he had no information that there might be any tension at the President's Palace during the day, but he noted that throughout October 4, at different times of the day, both patrol police officers and Special Tasks Department representatives were deployed in the building.

“On October 4, around 12:00, patrol police entered the President's Palace building, and by 15:00, Special Tasks Department employees - presumably up to 50 people - were deployed in the building. There were also about 50 patrol officers. The Special Tasks Department employees have a direct supervisor. Presumably, they were waiting for orders - I cannot answer on that,” - stated the witness.

According to him, “the iron structure of the palace fence was locked before 19:00, when they learned that ‘the protesters were moving.’”