Charges have been brought against Georgia’s former defense minister Bacho Akhalaia, who was detained yesterday.

Axar.az reports that this was stated in a release by Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office.

Akhalaia is accused of organizing and leading group violence related to the storming of the Georgian president’s palace in Tbilisi on October 4 this year, the day of the municipal elections.

The alleged crimes carry a prison sentence of up to nine years.

The Prosecutor General’s Office will apply to the court within the legally prescribed timeframe to request pretrial detention for the former minister.

It should be noted that Bacho Akhalaia served as Georgia’s defense minister from 2009 to 2012. He was arrested in 2012 on charges of torturing prisoners and sentenced to nine years in prison. He was released in March 2022.