A Tbilisi court has sentenced Georgian opposition leader Elene Khoshtaria to 1.5 years in prison for writing “Russian regime” with a marker on a Georgian Dream election banner in September 2025, in a case widely seen as part of an intensifying crackdown by the ruling party.
Judge Giorgi Arevadze delivered the verdict, finding Khoshtaria guilty of damaging property. Prosecutors argued that she had vandalised three Georgian Dream campaign banners, causing damages amounting to 570 GEL (approximately $200).
The charges stem from a September 14, 2025 incident involving a campaign banner of Tbilisi mayor Kakha Kaladze.
Following her arrest, Khoshtaria said the act was intended as a show of solidarity with student Megi Diasamidze, who also faces criminal prosecution over a similar protest in which she wrote “Russian regime” on another Kaladze campaign banner.
Khoshtaria did not attend court hearings. She was represented by a public defender, who declined to deliver a closing statement. The leader of the Droa party was arrested on September 15, 2025, one day after the incident.
In March 2026, the European Parliament adopted a resolution in support of Khoshtaria, describing her as a political prisoner, calling for her immediate release, and urging the European Union to impose sanctions on Georgian Dream officials, including party leader Bidzina Ivanishvili. Critics argue that Georgia now holds more political prisoners under the Georgian Dream government than Russia, underscoring a sharp deterioration in the country’s democratic standards.
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