The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has denied the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party permission to hold a rally in Rike Park on October 1. Irakli Pavlenishvili, chairman of the party’s governing council, announced the decision.

According to Pavlenishvili, despite the refusal, UNM supporters intend to gather at 5:00 PM that day near the structures known as the "Rike Jars."
Pavlenishvili stated that the Interior Ministry informed the party it could not hold a rally demanding the release of former President Mikheil Saakashvili. The opposition figure called the decision unlawful and declared that restricting citizens' access to public spaces is unacceptable.

He also linked the refusal to the authorities' policy regarding Saakashvili and the National Movement, claiming that the ruling team fears their return to political activity.

"They know full well that the nine-year period of nation-building in this country will inevitably continue, and that the 14 years of ruin will come to an end. They fully understand the role Mikheil Saakashvili—together with the National Movement and the Georgian people—will play in dismantling this regime," Pavlenishvili emphasized.

The UNM representative urged citizens to attend the rally despite what he described as technical obstacles being created. He characterized the gathering point—Rike Park—as a symbol of the "ruin and plundering of Georgia."

The date of the rally marks the anniversary of Saakashvili's arrest. On October 1, 2021, the former president returned to Georgia after an absence of approximately eight years; later that same day, authorities announced his arrest. Saakashvili is currently serving a combined sentence of 12 years and six months across several criminal cases. In March 2025, a court added a penalty for illegal border crossing to the sentence he had previously received for the misappropriation of budget funds. Under the ruling, the politician is to remain in custody until April 1, 2034.

In September, during a court hearing regarding the crackdown on an anti-government rally on November 7, 2007, Saakashvili sang the Ukrainian national anthem. He also posted a message on his Facebook page explaining his actions, describing himself as a "proud citizen of a fighting Ukraine" and expressing his support for the country. In the aforementioned case, the former president is charged with abuse of office; he denies the charges.