"I expect to be arrested. There's a 99% chance I will be."

One of the leaders of the "Coalition for Change," Zurab “Girchi” Japaridze, stated this during Palitra News’ program "Polit-City."

According to Japaridze, he does not intend to pay the 20,000 GEL bail imposed on him by the court for refusing to appear before the temporary parliamentary investigative commission.

Japaridze explained that he might be arrested during the hearing scheduled for Thursday, May 22.

"Today is the deadline for paying the bail. They won’t arrest me today, but I have a hearing on Thursday. On Thursday, there is a chance they will arrest me," said Japaridze.

When asked whether he planned to pay the bail, Japaridze replied:

"No, there is no chance. If they arrest me, I’ll go to jail. I expect to be arrested. There’s a 99% chance they will arrest me," he said.

Regarding other politicians who did pay the bail, Japaridze said that it is a personal decision for each individual:

"I have my own personal story. It's not that I want to go to prison, but it is a matter of principle for me not to take part in this farce. I said from the beginning, when I was summoned, that I wouldn’t go, no matter what the consequences were — and I won’t participate in that farce. Absolutely not. For me, this is a matter of principle. If they arrest me, let them arrest me."

In his view, there is no real justice system in Georgia — what exists is a "punitive system."

"I’ve said this to the judge too — I’m not attending because I trust the system or believe I’ll find justice. I think it’s important for anyone interested in politics to witness how the system really works — a system that hasn’t changed since the Soviet Union. This is not a justice system. It’s a punitive system. And it’s not just the courts — it’s the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor’s Office, the prison guards, the bailiffs — they all take part in this falsehood, insisting that white is black," said Japaridze.

He also spoke about the ongoing political processes and protest rallies in the country.

According to Japaridze, it’s very important that people are still taking to the streets to protest:

"What I like is that the protest continues and isn’t dying out — despite all the criticism from people who do nothing more than tap on their keyboards. They say the rallies are over and done, etc. But the protest is doing its job, and that’s very important. In my view, it’s the only public demonstration that shows the citizens of this country do not accept this regime and are fighting for freedom. This demonstration only happens in the evenings, on Rustaveli Avenue."

While he admits that protests alone are not enough to win the fight, he believes they are still essential.

Japaridze also commented on participating in local elections, stating that doing so would lead to very negative consequences:

"In my opinion, what will unconditionally follow is the collapse of the line of non-recognition from abroad — the one we are holding onto by our teeth right now."

He said that under the current political system, elections are not real elections, but a "farce."

"I think it would kill the protest movement. That’s why I believe participation in the elections would be a major political mistake, because it indirectly legitimizes the previous elections and the results announced by them."

He believes that the party “Gakharia for Georgia” will not participate in the local elections, and that this decision will be disastrous for Giorgi Gakharia.

"I don’t think they’ll participate. I believe it would be a disaster for him. It would be like swinging a scythe at himself. First, because people won’t go to the polls, and second, he won’t even achieve the result he might be hoping for. I don’t think Gakharia would be satisfied with a result worse than what the CEC gave him in the last election," Japaridze said.

Japaridze is confident that Georgia will not become "Russified" and that the people’s struggle will end in victory.

"Every citizen needs to understand what will happen if Georgian Dream stays in power. There’s nowhere else to go. If you stay home, then where do you end up? You wake up in Chechnya — how can you stay home? Or do you just stop thinking altogether, shut your brain off?" he concluded.