In Tbilisi, police forcibly dispersed a rally of thousands: there are detainees and victims
The dispersal of a large-scale pro-European protest on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi lasted almost seven hours and ended by morning. After pushing the protesters to the Rustaveli metro station and cordoning them off, mass arrests took place, Newsgeorgia reports. Recall that the reason for the new wave of protests was the government's statement about freezing negotiations on the country's European integration.
Yesterday, the reappointed Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze approved the measures taken to disperse the previous rally, and last night, according to eyewitnesses, the actions of the security forces were even harsher. Law enforcement officers did not hesitate to use physical violence, including against members of the press. The statement released by the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) noted that the police used special means such as water cannons, pepper spray, and certain capsules. The NGO noted that such measures are usually prohibited, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs lifted the restriction "in order to simplify the practice of dispersal."
The Ministry of Internal Affairs, in turn, reported that "as a result of violent actions by protesters," 10 employees of the department were injured. One of the security officers is in the hospital with burns of varying degrees. The statement emphasized that the action went beyond the scope of peaceful demonstrations and became illegal. The authorities have not reported the number of people injured during the dispersal of protesters, but independent media write about dozens of wounded. Some demonstrators received serious injuries; they were carried on stretchers to ambulances. The beatings were recorded by cameras.
In just two days, about 150 protesters were detained in the capital, and several more people were detained in Batumi, writes Newsgeorgia, noting that this is not the final figure: many may be detained later, when the Interior Ministry identifies them from cameras. The protesters are accused of failing to comply with police demands and petty hooliganism.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili condemned the use of violence against demonstrators: "This illegitimate government has declared not peace, but war on its own people, its own past, and its own future. This is a war with our future, our society, and our country. Because on this path there is no Georgian statehood, independence, or future except in Russia."
