TI-Georgia Names 91 Political Prisoners
By Messenger Staff
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Transparency International Georgia has published a list of 91 detained convicts it classifies as political prisoners, using criteria from a 2012 Council of Europe resolution. Most cases stem from the anti-government protests that began November 28, 2024, after Georgian Dream halted the country's EU accession bid. The list also names people detained in the October 4, 2025 election unrest, opposition politicians, and former associates of party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.
"Such a high number of political prisoners once again points to the existence of politically motivated justice in Georgia and the deterioration of the human rights situation," TI-Georgia said.
The group applied five PACE criteria, covering rights violations, political motive, disproportionate sentencing, discrimination, and unfair trials. All 91 cases meet at least three of the five; 88 meet the rights-violation criterion; 13, including journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli and politician Elene Khoshtaria, meet all five.
Other names include opposition leaders Nika Melia and Levan Khabeishvili, former UNM ministers Bacho Akhalaia and Irakli Okruashvili, opera singer Paata Burchuladze, and dozens of young people detained early in the 2024 protests. Aleko Elisashvili, sentenced to 13 years on a terrorism charge, was left off but flagged as a likely addition.
Common charges include group violence (35 cases), attempted seizure of a strategic facility (19), and disruptive group action (19). Georgian Dream continues to reject the political prisoner label, saying each person is serving time for an actual crime.
