Saba Jiqia
SentencedArticle 353¹(1) – Assault on a police officer, a penitentiary service officer, another state representative, or a public institution.
Case Details
Saba was an 18-year-old student at the time of his arrest on 5 December 2024 and turned 19 while in prison.
The prosecution accused him of kicking police officer Beka Gotiashvili. However, at trial, Gotiashvili testified that he had not sustained any injury.
After Saba was sentenced, government-affiliated media outlets circulated illustrations and images falsely portraying him as having attacked a police officer with a knife and claiming that this was the reason for his 4.5-year sentence. In reality, the prosecutor's case made no mention of a knife. Video footage only shows Saba holding a shiny object, the nature of which has never been determined.
Defense Arguments
The alleged victim police officer testified he sustained no injury. No knife was mentioned in charges — media disinformation campaign.
Procedural Issues
Government-affiliated media ran a disinformation campaign with fabricated illustrations after sentencing.
Personal Background
Was 18 years old at the time of arrest. Turned 19 while in prison. Student.