MP Guram Macharashvili states Burchuladze’s appeal to October 4 protesters to repent and request plea deals may prove effective

“If Paata Burchuladze’s supporters believe him again in the same way they did on October 4, then his call for them to first admit their guilt, then repent and seek a plea agreement may actually have an effect,” the Executive Secretary of the People’s Power party, MP Guram Macharashvili, has stated.

Macharashvili was asked about a statement made by Paata Burchuladze, convicted in the October 4 case, in which he said: “My call to those detained in the October 4 case is to accept the plea agreement offered by the Prosecutor’s Office and to secure your release from unlawful detention.”

“The law enforcement agencies will determine what can be done within the framework of the legislation. This was an attempted coup, not an attempt to sing on a stage. Paata Burchuladze has now admitted, from start to finish, exactly what we had been saying: yes, he went up on stage and called on those present to march towards the Presidential Palace and storm it. Do you remember what they were saying at the time, that these people had been standing on stage quite harmlessly, that no one had called for a coup, and that they had been wrongfully detained? Well, let those same people come forward now and explain what this talk of a plea agreement is about, and tell him: what plea agreement are you talking about? Stay right where you are until you’ve served your sentence.

The plot for a coup collapsed after October 4, once the public realised the goal was to overthrow the government; now, their remaining objective is clear. It seems Burchuladze wants to perform in public again; he is clearly tired of prison. He has confessed to his crime and urged his supporters to accept the reality of what they did. Whether others agree with this is a technicality; the key fact is that he has admitted to their actions. They were trying to show the public that he was ready for revolution and backed a coup, yet within a few months, he is saying, ‘Forgive me, let me out of jail, I won’t do it again.’ This proves he was lying back when he told people ‘the keys to the Presidential Palace are in our hands,’ just as he is lying today about his repentance. The sole aim here is to get out of prison,” Macharashvili stated.