The Turkish authorities have returned Zurab Japaridze, one of the leaders of the opposition Coalition for Change and the Girchi – More Freedom party, to Georgia. The politician had been denied entry into Turkey and detained the day before.
Japaridze’s detention was initially reported by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), of which Girchi – More Freedom is a member. Later, Zurab Japaridze posted on social media, stating that an “entry ban to Turkey has been imposed on him since November 2025.”
On the same day, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia also issued a statement. As the ministry informed the IPN news agency, “banning Japaridze from entering any country was not requested by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.”