Georgian pro-European protester calls for support of detained Russian demonstrators in Tbilisi

Rezo Kiknadze, a Georgian protester detained during anti-government rallies against halted EU integration, on Thursday urged the public to support Russian citizens arrested during the same protests in Georgia sparked late 2024, saying they should not be left to face punishment alone.

Kiknadze wrote on social media that he feared Russian participants could be treated harshly “as an example” and exploited for propaganda purposes.

“Please, let us not abandon them. Do not think ‘they are Russian, so what.’ Stand by them as you have stood by us. Dictatorship is dictatorship everywhere, and those who fight it deserve respect wherever they are,” Kiknadze wrote.

He highlighted the efforts of the Russian citizens, saying they had actively opposed Vladimir Putin’s regime at home and had joined Georgian protests voluntarily. “Many of their compatriots are indifferent, yet these people came every night, helping poisoned demonstrators as best they could,” he said.

Kiknadze further noted “in my opinion, they are just as good people as the rest. We must not let them be sacrificed.”