Lawyer Aleksandre Zubashvili states that his client, Sulkhan Tugushi, entered the courtyard on October 4 at Atoneli, near the President’s Palace, to assist a law enforcement officer who had fainted.
“There is video evidence in the case showing my client helping the officer, who was unconscious. He is seen assisting other citizens, helping them, and moving them to the ambulance […] My client is not attacking a strategic facility; rather, he is removing an unconscious officer from the strategic site. Later, I learned that this person was sent to Turkey for medical treatment […] It turns out that Sulkhan Tugushi is being charged for removing an officer who was unconscious. So, are you saying he shouldn’t have helped? He shouldn’t have assisted?” said Aleksandre Zubashvili, Tugushi’s lawyer.
“What are these people being detained for? For freedom of opinion and expression? Does it mean that if I disagree with a public official’s decision, I must remain silent and not express myself? […] Nothing like this happens in any other country; such things only happen in Belarus and Russia […] I myself went out and stood there, and I will do it again, tomorrow, when a large protest is planned,” the lawyer added, after which the judge interrupted him and instructed him to speak only about the specifics of the case.
According to Aleksandre Zubashvili, the court should not have imposed any preventive measures on any of the defendants. As an alternative, he proposed a GEL 3,000 bail and noted to the judge that they were ready to pay more if necessary. Ultimately, the judge ordered the defendants to remain in pre-trial detention.