Eight protesters detained during December rallies were sentenced to 2 - 2.5 years in prison after a court found them guilty of organizing and participating in a group activity "disrupting public order," following a last-minute reclassification of the original, more serious organized group violence charges.

Tbilisi City Court Judge Tamar Mchedlishvili announced the verdict against 8 defendants on September 2, sentencing 3 of them – Zviad Tsetskhladze, Vepkhia Kasradze, and Vasil Kadzelashvili – to 2 years and 6 months in jail each, and the others – Giorgi Gorgadze, Irakli Miminoshvili, Insaf Aliev, Tornike Goshadze, and Nikoloz Javakhishvili – to 2 years in prison each.

Tsetskhladze, Kasradze, and Kedzelashvili were initially charged with organizing group violence, while the remaining defendants faced charges of participating in group violence, all under Article 225 of the Georgian Criminal Code, carrying a penalty of 4 to 6 years in prison.

The judge, however, reduced the charges on September 2 to "organisation of group activity disrupting public order or active involvement in it" under Article 226 of the Criminal Code, punishable by a fine or community service or corrective labour, or by house arrest for a term of 6 months to 2 years or imprisonment for a term of up to 3 years.