Former Georgian PM Kvirikashvili urges Gov’t to release detained pro-European protesters

Former Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has called on the ruling Georgian Dream government to release individuals detained during pro-European demonstrations, which have gripped the country for 167 days. In a Facebook post, Kvirikashvili emphasized that freeing the detainees would not be a "show of weakness" but rather a step toward "easing tensions" within society.

The former prime minister’s post comes as opposition parties, Georgia’s fifth president Salome Zourabichvili, and segments of civil society label the detainees as "prisoners of conscience." Kvirikashvili warned the government that public sentiment, even among its own supporters, was not supportive of the continued imprisonment of protesters.

"Believe me, their being in prison, their and their families’ lives being made miserable are not pleasing to the majority of society, including, you can imagine, a large part of your supporters," Kvirikashvili wrote. He further criticized the government's “rigid stance”, arguing that such inflexibility would only deepen societal divisions and foster a sense of injustice.

The pro-European demonstrations, ongoing since November 28, began after the Georgian Dream party declared it would not prioritize the opening of EU accession talks until 2028. Protesters are demanding new parliamentary elections and the release of detainees, including prominent journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, the founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti. They argue that the detained individuals are victims of political repression.