Shalva Papuashvili: State to offer maximum clemency to those who repent for crimes against homeland

“The Georgian state maintains an official policy of showing maximum leniency to individuals who admit guilt, take full responsibility, and acknowledge their crimes against the nation,” Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili stated today.

Addressing reporters, Papuashvili called on those involved in the recent unrest to confess rather than persist in their wrongdoing, promising maximum clemency where genuine repentance is shown.

“Two imprisoned organisers have requested plea bargains and formally petitioned the Prosecutor’s Office; we shall see what the outcome will be. These confessions once again reveal what we were up against,” Papuashvili said.

“This was an externally inspired attempt to overthrow the government. The fact that the organisers themselves are now seeking plea agreements and begging for mercy shows the true nature of the people we are dealing with. Were it not for the highly considered actions of our security services and the heroic response of our police forces, who defended the Presidential Palace and the entire nation at the risk of their lives and health, Georgia stood on the brink of returning to the 1990s.”

The Parliamentary Speaker warned of the tragic consequences the country narrowly avoided, drawing parallels to Georgia’s dark post-Soviet turmoil.

“We saw in the 1990s what disaster would have unfolded, what blood would have been shed, and what severe conflict would have erupted, and we know precisely what could have happened. These individuals were ready to sacrifice the country and its people, yet today, owing to their weak resolve, they are begging for mercy and seeking release from prison,” Papuashvili added.

Reiterating the government’s stance, the Parliament Speaker urged all perpetrators to demonstrate remorse.

“The state’s declared policy is that whoever admits their crime, takes responsibility, and realises what they committed against their own country will be treated with the utmost humanity by the state. They should confess immediately and show the public they recognise the shame of what happened on October 4, instead of stubbornly clinging to their crime. I can only urge everyone to repent for the crime committed against their homeland; where there is repentance, there will be the fullest demonstration of forgiveness,” the Parliamentary Speaker emphasised.