TBILISI, June 27 – Family members of people detained during Georgia’s November and December 2024 protests called on citizens to join a march in Tbilisi on Saturday evening, saying the prisoners should not be forgotten.
The appeal was made near the Tbilisi Concert Hall, commonly known as the Philharmonic. The march was planned for 7 p.m., from the Philharmonic to Parliament.
The families said they were speaking not only as relatives of prisoners, but as people who believe in truth, dignity and freedom. They described their jailed children, relatives and loved ones as prisoners of conscience and political prisoners.
“Our children, family members and loved ones are in prison today,” the statement said. “They took away their freedom, but they could not take away their dignity, truth and faith that justice will definitely prevail.”
The arrests stem from the protest wave that followed Georgia’s political crisis in late 2024. Since then, the opposition and protest movement have repeatedly demanded the release of detainees, making “freedom for political prisoners” one of their central slogans.
The government and law enforcement authorities have treated the cases as criminal proceedings. Protesters and family members argue that the detainees are being punished for political reasons.
In Saturday’s statement, the families said public support was crucial. They said every word of solidarity, every person attending a rally and every sign that society remembers the prisoners gives them strength to continue.
“Solidarity is not only sympathy,” they said. “Solidarity is action.”
They also addressed those still in prison directly, telling them they were not alone and that their families, friends and thousands of citizens were waiting for their freedom.
The families called on Georgian citizens not to remain passive in the face of what they described as injustice. They said one person’s voice may seem small, but many individual voices together create public strength.
Their main message was not to get tired, not to stay silent and not to accept injustice.
The planned march is dedicated to what the families called the “prisoners of the regime”. It comes as some defendants in other protest cases have recently been released through plea agreements.
The families ended their appeal for freedom for prisoners of conscience and political prisoners.
