President Kavelashvili pardons 226 people in Georgia

Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili has issued pardons to 226 individuals on the religious holiday of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (Mariamoba). The pardons include 217 people serving custodial sentences, six serving non-custodial sentences, and three individuals whose criminal records were expunged.

Reports indicate that the group of pardonees includes several individuals previously jailed in connection with anti-government and pro-EU protests occurring between May 2024 and October 2025. Among those released are protesters involved in the 2024 demonstrations against the foreign agents law and those arrested during election-day unrest in October 2025. Some of these individuals had previously faced multi-year prison sentences for charges such as ‘kicking a police officer’ or possession of a Molotov cocktail, though some defendants had denied the allegations or claimed political motivation behind their arrests.