Paata Burchuladze has been arrested by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, accused of inciting violent actions during the Oct. 4 protest in Tbilisi.

The bass was among several prominent opposition figures, including the United National Movement (UNM) Murtaz Zodelava and Irakli Nadiradze, Strategy Aghmashenebeli leader Paata Manjgaladze, and Colonel Lasha Beridze.

Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze announced the arrests, and he claimed that they were charged with “calling for the violent overthrow of Georgia’s constitutional order or government, as well as organizing, leading, and participating in group violence.”

According to the deputy minister, the crimes are punishable by up to nine years in prison, and reports noted that the five detainees were members of the “October 4 Protest Organizing Committee,” which Burchuladze named earlier.

Burchuladze was a prominent bass in the opera world who performed at many of the great opera houses around the world. He has recently become a major political figure who established the Georgian Development Foundation, a civic movement that was expected to turn into a political party ahead of the scheduled October 2016 parliamentary election.

When the announcement of his arrest was made, several opera singers defended the bass with Anita Rachvelishvili, who took to social media and said, “He is fighting for our country! We love you Maestro, and we are all with you!”