“The release of Nika Gvaramia and, among them, Zurab (Girchi) Japaridze will give new energy to the protest and to our actions. We will use this opportunity while they are out, because we know that new charges have been brought against them. We have a lot to do to ensure that Georgian Dream does not succeed in what it has planned,” said Giorgi Butikashvili, a member of the “Coalition for Change,” outside Rustavi prison, where supporters are awaiting the release of the coalition’s leader, Nika Gvaramia.

According to him, Nika Gvaramia is informed about the current situation in the country and about how the process of delegitimizing Georgian Dream and maintaining non-cooperation should continue.

“Nika is informed about the situation in the country and how the process of delegitimizing Georgian Dream and non-cooperation should continue. The release of Nika Gvaramia and Zurab (Girchi) Japaridze will give new energy to the protest and to our actions. I am sure new ideas will emerge that did not exist before. We will use this opportunity while they are out - we know that new charges have been brought, so before anything else happens, we must do a great deal to ensure that Georgian Dream does not accomplish what it has planned,” Butikashvili said.

As a reminder, the leader of the “Coalition for Change,” Nika Gvaramia, will leave Rustavi Penitentiary Facility No. 12 today.

His eight-month prison term expires today.

On July 1, 2025, Gvaramia was sentenced to eight months in prison for failing to appear before a temporary investigative commission of Parliament. He was charged under Article 349 of the Criminal Code, which concerns “failure to comply with the request of a temporary investigative commission of the Parliament of Georgia.”

As a preventive measure, Gvaramia had been ordered to pay bail of 30,000 GEL, which he did not pay within the legally established deadline. After the deadline expired, the bail was replaced with imprisonment. He did not attend the court hearing and voluntarily appeared at Rustavi prison.