According to Artem Gribuli’s lawyer, Daria Samodurova, the regime of deprivation of liberty of her client has been changed from a semi-open to a closed regime. The relevant order was served on Gribuli prior to the lawyer’s arrival and, according to the lawyer, is based on a classified session record. Placement in a closed-type penitentiary institution entails significant restrictions on telephone communication and the number of visits. The lawyer indicated that the decision will be appealed.

According to Samodurova, the decision was preceded by an incident involving a penitentiary employee referred to as “Makho”, during which Gribuli was subjected to verbal abuse and threatened with placement in a disciplinary cell and the fabrication of a new criminal case. She stated that the conflict initially arose between the employee and another detainee, after which the threats were also directed at Gribuli.

The lawyer further indicated that, according to the information available to her, the penitentiary system resorted to various methods to increase the perceived “risk” attributed to Gribuli. In her assessment, these actions may be linked to her active submission of complaints.

She further noted that similar circumstances are observed in the case of Anastasia Zinovkina, in respect of whom the order changing the regime of deprivation of liberty has already been appealed before the court.

A prison monitoring officer is currently examining the incidents and subsequent developments. According to the lawyer, the meeting with her client lasted several hours.

Artem Gribuli and Anastasia Zinovkina were detained on 17 December 2024. The Prosecutor’s Office charged them with the purchase and possession of a particularly large quantity of narcotic substances. On 12 September 2025, the court sentenced them to 8.5 years of imprisonment each. They do not admit the charges and state that their detention is linked to their participation in pro-European protest actions in Georgia.