"Judge Giorgi Gelashvili has officially transferred Georgian Dream’s order onto paper and declared Alexander Elisashvili a terrorist — the whole thing is ridiculous," Irina Kilosanidze, the wife of Aleko Elisashvili, one of the leaders of Lelo – Strong Georgia, told journalists.

According to her, Elisashvili’s actions were an act of protest against an unjust court system and not a terrorist act.

"This was not a decision by the judge; it was the fulfillment of Georgian Dream’s order, as is the case with almost every trial held in this court. The verdict was effectively decided eight months ago, when Papuashvili declared him a terrorist and violated every principle of the presumption of innocence.

Judge Giorgi Gelashvili simply put Georgian Dream’s order on paper officially and declared Alexander a terrorist. Terrorism was September 11; Bin Laden was a terrorist, and today we have Alexander Elisashvili, who has been declared a terrorist. September 11 is considered terrorism, and so is this. Of course, the whole thing is ridiculous.

His action was a protest against an unjust court system. He expressed his protest in this form," Kilosanidze said.

Elisashvili’s wife also said that his lawyers plan to appeal the verdict through all available court instances.

"Alexander himself is staying strong. He has already written one book and is working on a second one, and he will provide us with good literature from there. So, he will not be lost, he will not waste his time, and we have everything ahead of us," Kilosanidze said.

For reference, politician Aleko Elisashvili, one of the leaders of the Strong Georgia – Lelo coalition, was found guilty by the court on charges of attempted terrorist act. According to the ruling of Judge Giorgi Gelashvili, Elisashvili was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

The case concerns an incident at the Tbilisi City Court Chancellery building, where employees of the court’s bailiff service stopped Elisashvili’s actions, after which law enforcement officers arrested him at the scene.