Those who considered themselves organizers of the October 4 rally and now say, “We thought there was a plan, but there wasn’t,” show great irresponsibility. If an ordinary person says this, it’s completely understandable—everyone involved in this process must take their share of responsibility. We always said that creating excessive expectations and declaring a “final battle” on any given day was not reasonable, stated Davit Mzhavanadze, a representative of the “Coalition for Change,” during a guest appearance on “PalitraNews” program “Day’s Newsroom,” assessing the October 4 rally and the events that unfolded at the President’s residence.

According to Mzhavanadze, their coalition was neither involved in nor supportive of the incident that occurred at the Atoneli residence.

“Our coalition members clearly, loudly, and consistently stated that the rally planned for October 4 was important, and we joined it. Our coalition was the most numerous at this manifestation, as part of that day. However, we always said that creating excessive expectations and declaring a ‘final battle’ on any given day was not reasonable. This was our agreed position. A different position was held, among others, by the rally organizers, members of the ‘National Movement,’ including Ana Tsitlidze.

Ultimately, we remained true to our position, as well as to this protest rally and manifestation. As for the incident that happened there, we were neither involved nor supportive.

This is ‘Georgian Dream’ propaganda. We did not go out for a ‘coup rally’; we went out for the rally that we have been attending for 311 days now. Some rallies are more numerous, others less so. On the 4th, we were attending one of the significant rallies of this ongoing protest. Regarding calls for a ‘coup’ or something similar, we always emphasized that we do not see this process in that way. When people say, ‘We were expecting a plan,’ it’s completely understandable if an ordinary activist or person says this. However, for those who considered themselves organizers, including Ana Tsitlidze or other ‘National Movement’ members who are still out there and who announced in the evening, ‘We thought there was a plan, but there wasn’t,’ this is great irresponsibility. My call is for everyone involved in this process to take their share of responsibility, reassess the process, and then continue political life.

Regarding Murtaz Zodelava, he is not a member of our coalition. After the detention of both Nikas, he joined the party for a period, and we had some collaboration, but precisely because we could not agree on October 4...

As for whether we knew about the plan or not—I’ll say again, we knew what we knew. In both public and private communications, our position was that we did not see this as a realistic promise or expectation regarding October 4. We told these people this directly and publicly. We are not distancing ourselves from anyone. That’s not the correct formulation,” Mzhavanadze stated.

As he clarified during the program, when a portion of the rally participants headed toward the Atoneli residence, members of his coalition were on Rustaveli Avenue and did not go toward the President’s residence, “neither organized nor unorganized.”

“We were on Rustaveli; we did not go toward Atoneli, neither in an organized nor unorganized manner. In principle, not only us but 97% of the demonstrators present did not go toward the Atoneli residence; a small group did. Therefore, this incident that occurred there was an episodic, exceptional incident. The October 4 rally was, by its nature, very peaceful and numerous. We stayed on Rustaveli until the end.

The detained individuals are unequivocally political prisoners. This entire process and confrontation were fueled and provoked by ‘Georgian Dream.’ Kobakhidze directly stated that they lured the demonstrators and then prepared a surprise for them. There are even rumors that the fence was deliberately weakened so people could easily enter. ‘Georgian Dream’ directly admitted to setting a trap for its own citizens. Accordingly, everyone involved here is, of course, a political prisoner.

We must learn, and people must learn, that instead of excessive expectations and imitative processes, it’s better to respond to the people’s sentiments,” Mzhavanadze stated.

For reference, in connection with the events that unfolded in Tbilisi on October 4, the Ministry of Internal Affairs detained a total of 23 individuals, including 18 civic activists, with 5 accused of organizing the rally. According to the Ministry, 3 individuals are in hiding.

The leaders of the “Rustaveli Avenue” movement—Paata Burchuladze, former Chief Prosecutor Murtaz Zodelava—as well as Irakli Nadiradze, a member of the “National Movement,” Paata Manjgaladze, one of the leaders of “Strategy Aghmashenebeli,” and Colonel Lasha Beridze have already been sentenced to pretrial detention as a preventive measure. The court has not yet ruled on preventive measures for the 18 civic activists.

The investigation into the events of October 4 is being conducted under Articles 317, 222, 225, and 187 of the Criminal Code.

The prosecution has charged 13 activists under Article 19-222, Part 2, Subparagraph “a” (attempted seizure of strategic or particularly significant objects, committed in a group, punishable by imprisonment from two to four years) and Article 225, Part 2 (participation in group violence, punishable by imprisonment from six to nine years) of the Criminal Code of Georgia. Charges have not yet been filed against the remaining 5 activists.

As for the 5 individuals already sentenced to pretrial detention—Murtaz Zodelava, Paata Burchuladze, and Irakli Nadiradze have been charged under Article 19-222, Part 2, Subparagraph “a” (attempted seizure and blocking of strategic or particularly significant objects, committed in a group), Article 225, Part 1 (organizing and leading group violence), and Article 317 (calling for the violent change of Georgia’s constitutional order and the overthrow of the state government) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which provides for imprisonment of up to 9 years.

Lasha Beridze has been charged under Article 19-222, Part 2, Subparagraph “a” (attempted seizure and blocking of strategic or particularly significant objects, committed in a group) and Article 225, Part 1 (organizing and leading group violence) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which provides for imprisonment of up to 9 years.

Paata Manjgaladze has been charged under Article 225, Part 1 (organizing group violence) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which provides for imprisonment of up to 9 years.