Shalva Papuashvili’s statement regarding individuals arrested in connection with the 2024-2025 protests

The Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, released a statement on social media regarding the criminal prosecution initiated in connection with the violent protests of 2024-2025. According to him, in addition to the organizers of the violence, prosecution was initiated against approximately 100 individuals, of whom 45 are already free on the basis of admitting guilt, a plea agreement, or a presidential pardon. Currently, 72 individuals remain in custody. 1TV+3

According to Papuashvili's statement, these people are not political enemies to the state, but rather they have become "blind tools" in the hands of those who pushed them toward breaking the law and then abandoned them. The Chairman of Parliament called them "prisoners of dishonesty" and noted that their remaining in custody is needed by those people who stayed "behind the barricades" and are looking for victims for their own political goals. 1TV+3

According to Papuashvili, the state's demand for the prisoners is to take responsibility and admit guilt, which is the legal path to freedom. He also stated that those individuals who urge the detainees that they "must sit until the end" do not actually need their freedom, but rather their imprisonment to maintain their own political illusions. 1TV+3