The Kutaisi City Court has sentenced four miners to prison.
Merab Saralidze and Giorgi Neparidze were each sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison, while Tengiz Gvelesiani and Archil Chumburidze received sentences of 4 years and 3 months.
The verdict was announced by Judge Tamar Mazanashvili.
The prosecution charged the miners – Giorgi Neparidze, Merab Saralidze, Tengiz Gvelesiani, and Achiko Chumburidze – under Article 118, Part 2 of the Criminal Code (intentional infliction of less serious bodily injury).
The incident took place on April 28, 2025. According to the prosecution, the four miners allegedly attacked the director of the Shukruti mine, Tengiz Koberidze, and physically assaulted him. The miners deny the charges and say their prosecution is politically motivated.
The arrests followed an extended period of protests, including a hunger strike and mass demonstrations by miners in the city of Chiatura.
All four detained miners were prominent figures in the protest movement. They had called on other miners not to sign what they described as ‘an exploitative contract’ offered to miners by the company Georgian Manganese.
The court hearings of the four miners, who were detained under criminal law, were held at the Kutaisi City Court over a period of nine months.
