Elene Khoshtaria, leader of the Droa party and a key figure in the Coalition for Change, has rejected a court decision granting her release on GEL 5,000 bail. Judge Arsen Kalatozishvili issued the ruling, but Khoshtaria firmly stated she will not pay the amount.
Her trial, scheduled for 13:00, was postponed until 15:30 after she refused both legal representation and the right to a defence. Although the court appointed a treasury lawyer, Khoshtaria also declined this assistance and refused to meet with a human rights defender who visited her in detention. She did not attend the hearing, prompting the judge to express confusion about her absence. The deadline for paying the bail was set at 20 days.
Khoshtaria, however, publicly declared her refusal: “If someone were to post my bail, it would be like stabbing me in the heart. I will not allow anyone to do that.”
In a letter shared on social media, she explained her stance, insisting that paying bail does not equal real freedom. “This is merely a gesture, the opening of the prison door, which, of course, I will not pay for. Not because it wounds my self-respect, but because I cannot call you to fight while participating in lies and farces. My imprisonment is illegal, as is the detention of many others who are free in spirit. But let me assure you, imprisonment is not the end of the struggle. I promise you, we will prevail triumphantly! Until the very end!”
Khoshtaria was detained on September 15 and charged under Part 1 of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which concerns the damage of another person’s property causing significant harm. The offence carries a prison sentence of one to five years.
