“The country finds itself today in the grip of a profound political crisis, which an acutely polarised environment deepens further. This situation is impeding the normal development of the state, the restoration of its institutions, and the rebuilding of social cohesion,” stated Lana Galdava, a member of Strong Georgia-Lelo.

Galdava noted that, at the same time, both the number of prisoners held in penal institutions and the rate of non-custodial sentences in Georgia are critically high.

Lana Galdava emphasises that a comprehensive and fair amnesty should be a crucial step towards national reconciliation, reducing political tensions, and fostering the development of a more humane society.

“According to GeoStat data for 2025, the number of convicted persons stands at 22,767, whilst the number of prisoners amounts to 11,153. An urgent and fundamental reform of the penitentiary system is critically necessary. The system is, in practice, in a state of collapse. The rights of prisoners, conditions of nutrition, daily life and the security environment are all in a grave state. The influence of the criminal underworld within prisons has continued to grow. Recent developments, the suicide of a prison director and the detention of senior penitentiary officials, point directly to the fact that the system is in deep crisis and that state control has, in effect, been severely weakened.

Today, Georgia’s prisons are filled with people detained on political grounds. Citizens are being arrested daily under draconian and anti-democratic laws that deprive people of the ability to defend their own rights and restrict their freedom of assembly and demonstration.

Prisoners of conscience detained during protests are, in reality, serving sentences of a political nature. This is not justice; this is political persecution. For this reason, we believe that a comprehensive and fair amnesty should serve as a crucial step towards societal reconciliation, the reduction of political tensions, and the creation of a more humane state.

Our position is unambiguous: the perpetual tightening of sentences is not the answer. The state must, above all, be oriented towards the prevention of crime, the rehabilitation of individuals, and the guarantee of dignified conditions of detention. To bring polarisation to an end, defusing the gravely difficult political situation that presently exists, and opening up a new political space for the country, Strong Georgia–Lelo puts forward the initiative that a just and wide-ranging amnesty be declared,” stated Lana Galdava.