On March 30, the Prosecutor’s Office brought a new charge against a Georgian opposition politicion Aleksandre (Aleko) Elisashvili. This time, he is accused of starting a fire in the archive building of the Tbilisi City Court.
The prosecution alleges that, Elisashvili set the fire in the court archive on May 4, 2025. As a result, Elisashvili, who is currently in detention, has been charged with a second episode of a terrorist act.
The Prosecutor’s Office has also released surveillance footage which they claim shows Aleksandre Elisashvili.
Elisashvili denies that he is the individual depicted in the footage released by the Prosecutor’s Office concerning the incident that occurred last year. He asserts that the Prosecutor’s Office is seeking to implicate him in an unresolved case from the previous year.
“In the course of the investigation conducted by the Tbilisi Prosecutor’s Office Investigation Division, it was established that, in accordance with a pre-arranged plan, Aleksandre Elisashvili – equipped with items necessary to carry out a terrorist act and with his face covered by a mask – arrived on May 4, 2025, at approximately 03:44, at the rear side of the Tbilisi City Court building located at 64 Aghmashenebeli Alley, where the court archive is situated. Initially, he climbed onto a ventilation pipe and attempted to open a window but was unsuccessful. He then descended the stairs and, using a window opening, threw a flammable substance containing petroleum products into the archive room, causing a fire. He then returned to the window adjacent to a second archive room and, after climbing the ventilation pipe, set fire to the window and electrical wiring.
As a result of Aleksandre Elisashvili’s actions, a fire broke out on the exterior facade of the court building and in the archive, where hundreds of criminal, civil, and administrative case files were stored. The fire was extinguished by firefighters.
Through these actions, Aleksandre Elisashvili, with the aim of destabilizing one branch of government – the judiciary – and undermining the administration of justice, caused significant property damage by attempting to destroy court infrastructure, individual case files, and other important materials. He also endangered the health and lives of three employees of the court’s bailiff service who were present in the building at the time,” the Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
Opposition politician Aleksandre Elisashvili is currently in custody and is already facing one count of a terrorist act. On November 29, 2025, he allegedly attempted to set fire to the Tbilisi City Court’s chancellery building.
Elisashvili has been charged under Article 19–323(1) of the Criminal Code [. An act of terrorism, i.e. explosion, setting fire, assault on a person, use of a weapon or any other act that creates the risk of death, substantial damage to property or the occurrence of other grave consequences that has been committed for terrorist purposes], which carries a sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison.
