Following increasing attacks on activists, protesters in Georgia will be banned from covering their faces
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze promised that the ruling party would pass a law banning protesters from covering their faces in various ways. The statement was made in response to the increasing number of attacks on activists, oppositionists and representatives of the independent press, in particular the TV Pirveli film crew.
Yesterday, employees of the opposition TV channel were beaten by masked men. This happened in Tbilisi, not far from the site of the protest. The head of the Cabinet believes that the new law will help prevent violence.
Commenting on the attack on the TV Pirveli film crew, Kobakhidze repeated the version of provocation previously voiced by the Georgian Dream.
"This is definitely a provocation, which has the sole purpose of artificially raising the level of tension. The investigation into this crime has already begun, and I hope that the culprit will be identified soon,” the Prime Minister concluded.
At the same time, Irakli Kobakhidze did not comment on other cases of attacks, as well as the lack of appropriate measures by the security forces. The footage distributed by the media shows that the police are standing nearby and ignoring what is happening.
It is reported that up to 10 attacks on activists and journalists were committed overnight. In addition, a group of masked people in black broke into the office of the opposition party “Coalition for Change” and beat everyone who was there. By the morning, the attackers had not been caught. The Interior Ministry’s announcement about the start of the investigation appeared after the fact.
The problem of organized violence against protesters has been relevant since the spring, and none of the participants in the aggressive groups have been detained. This gives protesters reason to believe that the authorities are behind the attacks.
