On November 14, the Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia reported that Gogi Tsulaia, a former member of the Free Georgia party, was sentenced to six months in jail by the Tbilisi City Court.
The prosecutor claims that while the court cleared Tsulaia of violent sexual conduct under Article 138 (1) of the criminal code, it sentenced him to jail for violence that caused the victim physical suffering under Article 126 (1) of the criminal code. The Prosecutor's Office announced that they intend to file an appeal of the ruling with a higher court.
According to Valeri Gelbakhiani, Tsulaia's lawyer, Tsulaia is not presently residing in Georgia and intends to apply for asylum in another country.
Tsulaia was arrested in Tbilisi on March 17, 2021, on suspicion of bodily abusing a lady. He was afterward accused of sexual assault by the prosecutor's office. The Tbilisi City Court authorized Tsulaia's pretrial detention on March 19. It is important to note that Tsulaia was secretly recorded cursing at Bera Ivanishvili, Bidzina Ivanishvili's son, on TV Pirveli. The opposition claimed at the time that Tsualaia's pretrial detention was connected to that recording and amounted to selective justice as a result.
