Aleko Elisashvili admits to the offense. As his lawyer, Giorgi Rekhviashvili, told journalists, Elisashvili made the decision to start a fire in the registry office building of the court deliberately, as an act of protest.
“Fire to oligarchy and fire to the unjust court” – this is Elisashvili’s message, according to his lawyer.
Elisashvili states that he intentionally chose the early morning hours of Saturday so that no one would be harmed. According to the lawyer, the only thing he regrets is that he was not able to carry out the act to the end.
According to the lawyer, Elisashvili has been severely beaten, and he sustained physical injuries inflicted by court marshals at a time when he was already handcuffed.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs states that Aleksandre Elisashvili, one of the leaders of the “Strong Georgia – Lelo” coalition, has been detained after attempting to set fire to the registry office building of the Tbilisi City Court early this morning.
“According to the investigation, in the early morning hours of November 29 of this year, Aleksandre Elisashvili, disguised, used a hammer to smash the outer glass facade of the registry office building of the Tbilisi City Court, entered the inner area of the registry office, poured gasoline around the perimeter including on office supplies, equipment, and documentation and attempted to set the building on fire. He was caught on the spot by representatives of the Court Marshal Service, to whom Elisashvili resisted using a firearm he had with him and inflicted physical harm. Despite the resistance, the marshals detained Aleksandre Elisashvili on the scene.
One of the representatives of the Marshal Service has been taken to a medical facility due to injuries sustained during the confrontation. During the arrest, Elisashvili also sustained injuries as a result of his resistance.
Police have seized the tools used in the commission of the crime as evidence.
At this stage, the investigation is underway under Article 19-187 of the Criminal Code,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs states.