Three Tbilisi theater actors supported their colleagues' protest.
Manu Tavadze, Dato Beshitaishvili, and Luka Japaridze left the troupe of Tbilisi's New Theatre in protest against the removal of a banner with a portrait of their convicted colleague, Andro Chichinadze. The number of actors who have resigned from the theater has reached eight.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on February 21, it was reported that five actors (Eka Demetradze, Giviko Baratashvili, Kakha Kintsurashvili, Nanka Kalatozishvili, and Taso Chanturia) of the Vaso Abashidze Tbilisi Music and Drama Theater left the troupe after a banner in support of their colleague Andro Chichinadze was removed from the building's facade.
A banner with a portrait of Andro Chichinadze and the inscription: "Freedom for the prisoners of the system!" The theater's facade remained for over a year, but on February 20, it was removed to accommodate the filming of a new musical show for the pro-government television channel Rustavi 2.
By the evening of February 21, eight leading actors had already left the troupe of the Vaso Abashidze New Theater in Tbilisi: Manu Tavadze, Dato Beshitaishvili, and Luka Japaridze supported their colleagues' protest, JAMnews reports.
They all published a statement on social media: "As of today, I am no longer an actor at the Vaso Abashidze State Professional Theater of Musical Comedy and Drama," the publication writes.
The theater troupe toured various cities in Georgia for several months with a manifesto-performance demanding the release of Chichinadze and other protesters. As a result, in April 2025, the Ministry of Culture dismissed the theater's artistic director, David Doiashvili. Since then, the theater's activities have been effectively suspended, the publication states.
As a reminder, on September 2, 2025, the court sentenced 11 people, including Andro Chichinadze, to two years in prison, finding them to be participants in the riots.
Andro Chichinadze, detained at the site of a protest in December 2024, was charged with participating in group violence. On January 8, 2025, the Abashidze Theater, in solidarity with Chichinadze cancelled the performances in which he was performing and demanded his release. The theater administration stated that they were ready to refund purchased tickets, as the theater refuses to stage performances without Chichinadze. That day, a banner with the actor's portrait was hung on the theater's façade.
In April 2025, the ECHR accepted Andro Chichinadze's complaint and began examining it. The actor's lawyers challenged the legality of Chichinadze's arrest. The defense has repeatedly called his detention, like that of other defendants in this case, groundless.
Human rights activists consider the charges fabricated, and the case itself an attempt by the authorities to intimidate civil society. The accused, supporters of European integration, are not accused of the actions described by the injured security officials, they pointed out.
On November 28, 2024, the European Parliament refused to recognize the results of the parliamentary elections in Georgia and called for sanctions against the leaders of the Georgian Dream party. That same day, the Prime Minister announced that Georgia would withdraw from EU accession talks until the end of 2028. Following this announcement, protests erupted across the country. Security forces violently dispersed the protests, using tear gas and water cannons, and detained protesters. Over 1,000 people were subjected to administrative prosecution during the protests. On February 21, the 451st day of protests, activists in Tbilisi held marches in defense of education and demanding the release of political prisoners.