“Free the regime’s prisoners” - March in Tbilisi | Video podcast “Protests in Georgia”
What’s happening at Tbilisi rallies
On August 8, Tbilisi saw its 34th Saturday pro-European march. Its main demand was the release of dozens of protesters who have been detained during marches and rallies.
According to Transparency International Georgia, 90 political prisoners are currently held in Georgian prisons.
Many marchers also carried signs reading, “We will never accept Russian occupation.”
August 8 marks another anniversary of the Georgian-Russian war over South Ossetia, which began on August 8, 2008.
In 2008, Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. The UN and the overwhelming majority of countries consider the two regions part of Georgia, under Russian occupation.
It was the 619th consecutive day of protests in Georgia, with the main demand being for the country to return to the path of European integration. The march ended with a rally outside the government building.
For more than a year and half – since November 2024 – continuous protests have been taking place in Georgia, with demonstrators demanding that the country return to the path of European integration. Every evening thousands, and often tens of thousands, gather in Tbilisi and several other cities.
Over this time dozens of participants have been detained, many have faced criminal charges, and some have been sentenced to prison terms.
For the first time in the history of independent Georgia, the country has up to 150 prisoners of conscience, including women. Among them is Mzia Amaglobeli, founder of the popular outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti.
In 2025 she was sentenced to two years in prison for slapping a police officer. Protesters demand the release of all political prisoners, new parliamentary elections – as they do not recognize the results of the 2024 vote – and the repeal of all anti-democratic laws adopted over the past two years.
To suppress the protests, the ruling Georgian Dream party has increasingly tightened repression against civil society and the media. However, protests in various forms continue.
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