Levan Khabeishvili, one of the leaders of United National Movement, has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison on sabotage and coup incitement charges.

Tbilisi City Court Judge Irakli Khuskivadze handed down the sentence at today’s court hearing, after reclassifying one of the charges at the last minute.

Khabeishvili was detained on September 11, 2025, and was later charged with bribery and coup incitement. Prosecutors cited his public statements in which he promised USD 200,000 to police officers who would side with demonstrators during the planned October 4 rally and act as whistleblowers, and alleged that the opposition politician was “systematically calling on citizens from TV and through social media to commit acts such as overthrowing the government”.

The judge found him guilty of coup incitement, but reclassified the bribery charges, convicting him instead under Article 318 of the criminal code, which covers “sabotage”.

Judge Khuskivadze also sentenced another UNM member, Murtaz Zodelava, to 9 months in prison on allegations of obstructing an investigation in the same case.