Chiatura miners called the sentence against their comrades unfair.

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A protest against the unfair sentence handed down to four Chiatura residents was announced by their associates for March 19. They also demanded an investigation into violations in the mine's operations and the corrupt actions of the mayor's office.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in April 2025, three miners and a Chiatura resident were detained after a conflict with Shukruti mine director Tengiz Koberidze. Those detained include miners Merab Saralidze, Giorgi Nefaridze (also referred to in the media as Neparidze), and Archil Chumburidze, as well as Tengiz Gvelesiani. An investigation was launched under Article 118 of the Georgian Criminal Code (serious harm to health). At the end of January of this year, all those arrested were convicted.

Chiatura miners announced a protest in Tbilisi for March 19 (1:00 PM local time) outside the prosecutor's office, Georgia Online reported on March 15.

They called the charges brought against their four comrades and the subsequent sentences unfair, asserting that Saralidze, Nefaridze, Chumburidze, and Gvelesiani committed no crimes. The miners also stated that at the protest, they will demand an official investigation into the violations uncovered by the State Audit Service in Chiatura, including corruption schemes and the misuse of state budget funds.

The miners also called on the Anti-Corruption Department of the State Security Service of Georgia to investigate the activities of the Chiatura mayor's office and the Georgian Manganese company. They appealed to several television channels to provide them with airtime for debates involving the Minister of Economy and the Prime Minister of Georgia.

Miners in Chiatura have been holding protests since February 28, 2025. On March 8, Chiatura Management Company, which manages the manganese mine, notified its workers of their layoffs, citing dire financial circumstances.

Miners continued to hold protests in 2024. In June 2024, workers went on strike, demanding decent pay and improved working conditions. They later moved to street protests, which were joined by miners' families. On June 24, the miners and company management reached an agreement to end the strike and hunger strike. Management promised to raise wages first by 5%, then to 12%.

In November 2024, mine workers held protests again. They stated that the 60% of their salary offered to them by management during the downtime was not enough to survive.