The lawyers of convicted Aleko Elisashvili, one of the leaders of Strong Georgia – Lelo, have appealed the conviction verdict against the politician by the Tbilisi City Court to the Tbilisi Court of Appeal.

As lawyer Archil Chopikashvili stated, Aleko Elisashvili is being persecuted for his oppositional views.

"Both in the appeal and in the higher instance, we hope that this illogical verdict, which was issued by the court of first instance, will be canceled and changed. It is impossible to cause the apocalyptic consequences with 2 bottles of gasoline, for which the opposition politician Aleksandre Elisashvili was sentenced to 13 years in prison. This case is clear evidence that Aleksandre is being persecuted for his oppositional, political views, is a victim of personal revenge, in fact, a Russian verdict is being executed for Elisashvili's participation in the armed conflict in favor of Ukraine," Elisashvili said.

Today, at 13:00, a hearing will be held in another case involving Aleko Elisashvili at the Tbilisi City Court. The aforementioned episode concerns the phrase “scoundrel” uttered by a politician towards police officer Shota Chipashvili, which was assessed as disrespect for the court.

For information, a total of 4 criminal cases have been filed against Aleko Elisashvili. He has already been convicted in one case, which involves an attempted terrorist act, and has been sentenced to 13 years in prison. In addition, he is charged with committing a terrorist act, which involves setting fire to the court archive building. The politician is also charged with contempt of court, which includes calling police officer Shota Chipashvili a "scoundrel". Elisashvili is also accused of politically persecuting Ali Babaev, one of the founders of the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party.