A court in Georgia sentenced a Russian couple to eight and a half years in prison due to drug charges, local media reported on Friday.

Anastasia Zinovkina, 31, and her partner, Artyom Gribul, 25, were apprehended in December 2024 amid protests against the controversial election victory of the ruling Georgian Dream party, as well as its decision to postpone discussions regarding EU membership.

Prosecutors alleged that they procured and kept large amounts of drugs, claiming that law enforcement discovered 16 grams of the synthetic stimulant alpha-PVP during searches.

Both individuals refuted the allegations, asserting that the police had planted the drugs. Gribul was quoted by local news outlet OC Media saying, “Nine months ago, a crime was committed against me and Anastasia. This crime persists to this day.”

Another Russian, Anton Chechin, who was detained during the same period, received the same sentence earlier this month on similar charges, which he also deemed fabricated.

Zinovkina initiated a hunger strike in court on Friday, calling for the release of both men, according to the news site Civil Georgia.

A fourth Russian, Denis Kulanin, was sentenced in June to two years in prison for vandalizing a police vehicle during the protests in March.

The Kremlin has distanced itself from these cases, stating in December that it had no knowledge of the detained Russians but insisted they had “clearly” violated Georgian law.

Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Georgia became a key destination for Russians seeking refuge from their home country.