Protest statement by the International Miners' Coordination

The main coordinator of the International Miners' Coordination and the International Miners' Coordination Group appeal to miners around the world and the global public: 23 January 2026 We strongly protest against the sentencing of four miners from Chiatura, Georgia – we demand their immediate release! On 29 April 2025, we received news from Chiatura, Georgia, that four miners from the manganese mines had been arrested at three o'clock in the morning by the regional police in the tent of the miners who had been on strike since the end of February.

The main coordinator and former miner had been on site himself a few days earlier. The miners in the manganese mining industry have been locked out since the beginning of November 2024, with the promise that work would resume on 1 March and that they would receive 60% of their wages each month from the company until then. In November and December, their wages were paid significantly late after they threatened to strike; after that, they received no more wage payments. At the end of February 2025, they received a text message announcing their dismissal in March.

Since then, the miners and their families have been courageously striking, supported by the population of the region, to preserve their jobs and livelihoods in the Chiatura region and for the future of their children. Since then, the company and the press loyal to it have been conducting a smear campaign against the striking miners.

The miners' struggle and perseverance deserve great respect, and they are receiving solidarity and support from all over the world.

In December, a solidarity delegation from Germany visited the arrested miners and attended a so-called court hearing. It became clear that one miner was not even present at the time of the ‘offence’ and that the charges were based on witnesses who had heard about the ‘offence’. This week, the outrageous court ruling was handed down: 4 years and 3 months and 6 years and 3 months respectively for a ‘crime’ (grievous bodily harm) for which there were only alleged witnesses who knew about it from hearsay.

This verdict is intended to criminalise and stifle the miners' justified struggle for their jobs and a future for their children, as well as any efforts to secure democratic rights and freedoms in Georgia.

We, the International Miners' Coordination, call on the government and judiciary in Georgia to immediately overturn the verdict, release the arrested miners immediately and compensate them for their unjust imprisonment. We demand an end to the repression against the struggling miners and their supporters and the prosecution of the company and its accomplices.

We demand the recognition of the civil democratic and trade union rights of the workers.

 

Together we are strong!

Andreas Tadysiak

Chief Coordinator of the International Miners' Coordination

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