“To be honest, seven months were difficult, but the belief that we will win is so strong and powerful that not a single day truly felt hard,” said the leader of Strategy Aghmashenebeli, Giorgi Vashadze, speaking to journalists after leaving the penitentiary facility.

He thanked supporters for their backing.

“We are very determined and optimistic. Of course, I feel emotional. There are so many people who support us. I want to greet Georgia. I am confident and I believe that we will definitely win, because we want to live in a just country — a country that is moving forward, that is among developed nations, a worthy member of the European Union, and represented on the international stage. A country where we live happily. I want no one ever to be in prison again. I want us to live in a country where people are not arrested simply for having a different opinion. To be honest, seven months were difficult, especially being separated from my family, my children, my wife, and all of you. But the belief that we will win is so strong and powerful that not a single day truly felt hard.

I want to begin with gratitude — thank you very much to everyone from whom I received so many letters. Thank you to everyone who remembered me. Special thanks to emigrants as well; I received many letters from abroad. I hope I managed to reply to everyone. I want to express my deep respect for prisoners of conscience and for all prisoners of the regime. The incredible strength and sense of freedom that they radiate from prison strengthens all of us. Many thanks to their parents and mothers — it gives an extraordinary fighting spirit. Every day, when you turn on the television, you feel firm and strong even in prison. To all participants of the Rustaveli protests, to every active citizen, to every fighting patriot — we love our homeland and want to live normally in this country, to be strong among the strong, and to be at the forefront of development,” Vashadze said.

In addition, Vashadze noted that while in prison he missed his wife and children the most.

“[During imprisonment] many things were difficult, but first and foremost I missed Keti [my wife] the most, the children — absolutely everyone. Still, I remained strong. I love interacting with people; my day is usually filled from morning to evening with meeting and communicating with many people. And suddenly, imagine being alone, locked in a single room. During the day I had one hour when I would definitely exercise to stay in shape. Then books. You read a book, and at some point you suddenly realize your thoughts have drifted away. You’ve read 30 pages and have to go back and reread them, because you couldn’t follow,” Vashadze said.

For reference, the leader of Strategy Aghmashenebeli, Giorgi Vashadze, left Rustavi Penitentiary Institution No. 12 a short while ago, where he was met by family members and friends.

As a reminder, on June 24, 2025, the court found Giorgi Vashadze guilty of failing to comply with the request of a temporary parliamentary investigative commission. Vashadze did not attend the court ruling; law enforcement officers went to the party office, where the politician was handcuffed on the premises. By a decision of Judge Nino Galustashvili, Giorgi Vashadze was sentenced to seven months in prison and was also banned from holding public office for a period of two years.