Six people convicted in connection with the 4 October events have been released from prison after reaching plea agreements with the prosecution.
Publika reported from the scene as Kakhaber Kvachantiradze, Giorgi Talakhadze, Davit Giunashvili, Yuri Lomidze, Mikheil Tolaraia, and Gia Tolaraia left Gldani Prison after one year.
The Prosecutor’s Office had accused all of participating in organised group violence. On 14 June they all reached plea agreements and were sentenced to one year of imprisonment and three years of probation.
Speaking to TV Pirveli after leaving prison, Kvachantiradze said he wished freedom for all political prisoners and other people he described as ‘patriotic and decent’. He also expressed hope that an amnesty would be granted to people who considered their detention unjust.
‘I won’t say anything new — the whole country knows what kind of government we have. Sometimes a tactical retreat is necessary to achieve a strategic goal, Kvachantiradze said.
‘A peaceful revolution’
The 4 October protest was timed to take place with the widely boycotted municipal elections. Months prior to the elections, some opposition figures promised to end Georgian Dream’s 13-year rule in a single day, but did not announce any concrete plans.
The protest was billed as a ‘peaceful revolution’ meant to achieve what months of leaderless protests could not.
Initially, the campaigners’ efforts seemed to pay off. On the day, tens of thousands gathered in central Tbilisi, briefly reviving the dwindling daily protests.
Chaos soon followed: opera singer and opposition figure Paata Burchuladze declared that power belonged to the people, and opposition politician Murtaz Zodelava called for a march on the nearby Presidential Palace. A small group then breached a section of the palace fence, but was quickly pushed back by riot police, sparking sporadic clashes.
The crowd split, frustration spread, and the rally fizzled out.
OC MediaMikheil Gvadzabia
The ruling party quickly seized on the Presidential Palace episode to once again attack the anti-government movement, branding it, as many times before, a violent, foreign-orchestrated coup attempt.