Elene Khoshtaria: They may be technically imprisoned, but they are the true victors in this struggle: Gvaramia, Japaridze, Melia, and Okruashvili – they refuse to recognize the system at any cost!

These people are in the midst of a fight today. They may be technically imprisoned, but they are the true victors in this struggle: Gvaramia, Japaridze, Melia, and Okruashvili, – said the leader of the "Coalition for Change," Elene Khoshtaria, in a statement to journalists following the arrest of Nika Gvaramia.

According to her, this fight comes with discomfort.

"They may be technically handcuffed, but in reality, it is Irakli Okruashvili, Zurab Japaridze, Nika Melia, and Nika Gvaramia who forced the system to react – and the system could not break them. Because under no circumstances do they cooperate or acknowledge this system. That is what this fight is about."

"These people are engaged in the fight today. They may be technically arrested, but they are victorious in this struggle: Gvaramia, Japaridze, Melia, and Okruashvili. So yes, this fight involves discomfort. Discomfort – many people have been beaten, many young people are imprisoned. Yesterday, Mate’s story broke many hearts. But you cannot defeat regimes like this without discomfort. And we will defeat them – including for Nika’s sake," Khoshtaria added.

For context: Nika Gvaramia, leader of the "Coalition for Change," has been arrested. Law enforcement placed handcuffs on Gvaramia outside Rustavi's No. 12 penitentiary, where the opposition politician voluntarily appeared.

Before that, upon arriving at the penitentiary, Gvaramia called 112 and requested a police patrol himself. The officers who arrived on the scene stated that they had forwarded information about his location to the relevant agency.

During today's court hearing, the prosecution requested to replace the 30,000 GEL bail previously set as a restraining measure against Nika Gvaramia with pretrial detention. The judge granted the request, and Gvaramia's bail was replaced with imprisonment. He did not appear at the hearing held in Tbilisi City Court today.

It should also be noted that Nika Gvaramia was summoned to testify before the Georgian Parliament’s Temporary Investigative Commission, but he failed to appear. As a result, he has been charged under Article 349 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which refers to "failure to comply with the request of the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Georgian Parliament." This is punishable by a fine or up to one year of imprisonment, and/or deprivation of the right to hold office or engage in professional activity for up to three years.

Gvaramia had been released on 30,000 GEL bail, with a 50-day deadline to pay it. That deadline expired on June 7.