Four Miners Involved In Chiatura Protests Sentenced to Prison
Four individuals involved in miners’ protests in Chiatura have been sentenced to prison terms over an April 2025 incident in which prosecutors said they assaulted Tengiz Koberidze, the director of a mine in the village of Shukruti.
Kutaisi City Court Judge Tamar Mazanashvili delivered the verdict on January 20. Giorgi Neparidze and Merab Saralidze were sentenced to six years and three months in prison for “organizing and participating in group violence,” while Archil Chumburidze and Tengiz Gvelesiani received four years and three months for “participating in group violence.” They were arrested on April 29, 2025, a day after prosecutors said the four assaulted Koberidze.
Protests in Chiatura, an industrial town in western Georgia largely dependent on mining, began in February 2025 after Chiatura Management Company, which manages Georgian Manganese, halted mining operations across the municipality in the fall of 2024. The protests briefly moved to Tbilisi in March as miners sought to draw wider attention to their demands. Residents of the village of Shukruti had been protesting for more than a year, accusing the mining company of damaging their homes and land and demanding compensation.
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