Opposition Leader Zurab Japaridze Released After Seven Months in Prison
Zurab Girchi Japaridze, leader of the opposition Girchi-More Freedom party, was released from Rustavi prison early on December 19 after completing a seven-month sentence for defying the so-called Tsulukiani Commission.
He left prison early in the morning, ahead of his scheduled 10 a.m. release. Against initial plans to welcome him in Rustavi, he was thus greeted by his family and supporters near his apartment only after arriving in Tbilisi.
“In the end, we will be the ones who win,” Japaridze told journalists after his release, repeating a line he had made famous upon his detention. “However hard this path may be, it cannot be harder than what we – this country and the people who live here – went through a century ago at the hands of the Russians. […] Who thought it would be easy?”
Japaridze, who was detained on May 22 after refusing to post bail, became the first among eight opposition figures convicted for refusing to appear before the Georgian Dream parliamentary commission. He is also the first to leave prison among those serving a full sentence in a series of commission-related jailings.
Two others – Lelo/Strong Georgia’s Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, who were serving similar sentences, were released in early September following pardons from Georgian Dream-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili amid the party’s decision to participate in the October 4 municipal elections.
Five more remain behind bars, including Ahali party leaders Nika Melia and Nika Gvaramia, Strategy Aghmashenebeli’s Giorgi Vashadze, former United National Movement MP Givi Targamadze, and ex-Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili.
While Gvaramia, Vashadze, and Targamadze are also expected to leave prison in the coming months, Melia and Okruashvili had their sentences extended over separate criminal charges while behind bars. Melia will serve an additional year after being convicted in November for splashing water at a judge, while Okruashvili is expected to remain in jail for at least four more years after being found guilty in connection with a 2004 abuse-of-power case.
Zurab Japaridze is also among eight opposition figures who were indicted on “sabotage” charges on November 6. The charges, brought under Articles 318-1 and 319 of the Criminal Code, carry potential prison sentences of seven to 15 years. Prosecutors said earlier they would not seek pre-trial custody for those charged.
Initially tasked with probing alleged misconduct by the former ruling United National Movement, the commission later expanded its scope to target all major opposition party leaders. The commission concluded its work in August with a 470-page report, which Georgian Dream has cited in a Constitutional Court lawsuit seeking to ban the United National Movement and what it calls “affiliated” opposition parties.
Several other opposition figures also find themselves behind bars, including Elene Khoshtaria, whose Droa party, like Ahali and Girchi – More Freedom, has been part of the Coalition for Change alliance. Khoshtaria was arrested on September 15 for “property damage” after scribbling on a Georgian Dream campaign poster, and remained behind bars as she refuses to post bail.
Also Read:
- 01/10/2025 – Opposition Member Gela Khasaia Sentenced to Pretrial Detention
- 05/09/2025 – Khazaradze, Japaridze Say Kavelashvili’s Pardon ‘Manipulation’ as They Leave Prison
- 02/09/2025 – Tsulukiani Commission Presents 470-Page Report, Builds Case Against UNM, Others