Omar Okribelashvili and Saba Meparishvili walked out of prison on November 14 after serving 18 months on charges of property damage during last year’s protests against Georgia’s controversial foreign agents’ law.
Okribelashvili, 24, and Meparishvili, 20, had accepted a plea bargain in January, receiving sentences of two years and six months from Tbilisi City Court Judge Natia Gudadze. Under the agreement, they served 18 months in prison, with the remaining year to be served on parole.
Their conviction stemmed from charges under Article 187 of the Georgian Criminal Code for participating in property damage as a group. They were found guilty of damaging an iron protective barrier at the Parliament entrance on May 14, 2024. The fence was valued at approximately 400 GEL (USD 140).
Upon his release, Okribelashvili voiced support for other protesters still behind bars. “I advise those people [prisoners] to stay strong, [wish them] to get out soon, and of course, whoever gets out, I will stand by their side outside of prison and meet with them,” he said.
Meparishvili called on the protesters to continue the resistance. “No one should stop. They might arrest you, but don’t let anyone be afraid of getting arrested – they won’t give you life in prison. You’ll get out sooner or later anyway, so I’m calling on everyone to keep up the fight,” he said, as quoted by Publika.
The Social Justice Center (SJC), a local watchdog organization, said in November 2024 that those protesters’ cases demonstrate the “political instrumentalization of the judiciary.” The group had argued that Parliament’s amendments to the criminal code, which mandate imprisonment for those accused of collective property damage, with no alternative penalties available, have been applied to political activists “in an extremely problematic manner.”
Another protester, Pridon Bubuteishvili, is serving a five-year sentence on similar charges stemming from last year’s protests against the foreign agents law, and at least three other demonstrators were sentenced to several years in prison on similar charges after being arrested during the protests that erupted on November 28, 2025.
Except for Bubuteishvili, six other protesters remain in jail in connection with the 2024 spring protests against the foreign agents law. Davit Koldari, Giorgi Kuchuashvili, Giorgi Okmelashvili, and Irakli Megvinetukhutsesi were convicted on protest-related charges, while Ucha Abashidze and Mariam Iashvili, who were also arrested in the context of the spring 2024 protests, were convicted of illegally obtaining and storing private life secrets.
More than 100 protesters remain in prison, convicted or pending trial, including dozens arrested in the initial weeks of the pro-EU demonstrations that broke out on November 28, 2024, and up to 60 jailed in the aftermath of the October 4, 2025, election-day unrest.
Also Read:
- 02/08/2024 – Amendments to Criminal Code’s Article 187: Government’s Tool to Punish its Opponents
- 14/05/2024 – Breaking: Foreign Agents’ Law Adopted, Amid Protest, Brawls
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