“A group with a structured form is considered a group that is not randomly formed for the immediate commission of a crime, and in which it is not necessary for roles to be formally distributed among its members, for membership to be continuous, or for a developed structure to be established. If the prosecutors can prove this, well done to them,” said actor Andro Chichinadze, who was detained on charges of participating in group violence, during a court hearing.

He read aloud the article from the Criminal Code under which the detained individuals have been charged during the hearing.

“I’m holding the Criminal Code in my hands; we are charged under Article 225, which pertains to group violence... You are accusing us of participating in this group, right? The same Criminal Code provides a definition of group violence. For the prosecution’s accusations to be substantiated, they must meet the criteria: ‘A crime is committed by an organized group if it is carried out by a group with a structured form, operating in a coordinated manner over a certain period, whose members have conspired in advance to commit one or more crimes, or whose purpose is to directly or indirectly obtain unlawful financial or other material benefits.’

There is also a note: A group with a structured form is considered a group that is not randomly formed for the immediate commission of a crime, and in which it is not necessary for roles to be formally distributed among its members, for membership to be continuous, or for a developed structure to be established. If the prosecutors can prove this, well done to them,” Chichinadze stated.

For reference, during the protest rallies near the Parliament, 11 individuals were detained on charges of participating in group violence.

The detained individuals—Andro Chichinadze, Onise Tskhadadze, Jano Archaia, Ruslan Sivakov, Luka Jabua, Guram Mirtskhulava, Valeri Tetrashvili, Giorgi Terishvili, Irakli Kerashvili, Revaz Kinadze, and Sergei Kukharchuk—were charged under Part 2 of Article 225 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which pertains to participation in group violence.

This offense carries a penalty of imprisonment ranging from 4 to 6 years.