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Individuals Detained at Kakheti Rally Yesterday Released

17 individuals detained yesterday on charges of petty hooliganism and disobeying the police, in Kvareli, Kakheti, as they were protesting against the wedding celebrations of a relative of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, were all released today, including Droa leader Helen Khoshtaria.

Their release follows reports that family members and legal representatives were unable to identify the places of detention where the activists were being held. Prior to their release, the civil society organizations issued a joint statement on the detention of the protesters. The statement said that CCTV footage had been released “showing the degrading treatment of those arrested by the police”.

The statement said that lawyers, including those from non-governmental organizations who came to the police stations, were illegally prevented from protecting the rights of the detained individuals as the police did not allow them to visit the detainees. The statement said that the rights of the detainees were “continuously violated”.  The NGOs appealed to the Ministry of Interior to immediately allow the lawyers to meet with the detainees, otherwise this action will be perceived as restricting the detainees’ right to defense.

They also appealed to the Georgian Bar Association to respond to the facts of interference in the activities of lawyers. The statement was signed by Georgia’s Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), Women’s Initiatives Support Group (WISG); Georgian Democratic Initiative (GDI), Rights Georgia, Human Rights Centre, Partnership for Human Rights (PHR), Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), Transparency International – Georgia, Open Society Foundation (OSGF), Social Justice Centre (SJC), International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), Civil Society Institute (CSI).

While the demonstrators were being detained in Kakheti, another “No to Russia!” rally took place outside the Parliament building in Tbilisi yesterday. The demonstrators demanded an end to direct flights with Russia and the release of all those detained in Kakheti.

Meanwhile, although Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said at a briefing yesterday that she had been assured by Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri that Sergei Lavrov’s sanctioned daughter and other guests from Russia had left the country, reports emerged that they were in fact still in Georgia. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

Media Advocacy Coalition condemns interference in journalistic activity

“The facts of physical violence against the media, confiscation of equipment and illegal interference in the performance of professional activities” during the coverage of the ongoing protest at the Kvareli Lake Resort were condemned by the “Media Advocacy Coalition”, a non-governmental association working on media issues.

According to “Formula TV”, the employee of the hotel’s security service physically assaulted the TV company’s journalist and prevented him from carrying out his professional activity. According to “TV Pirveli”, representatives of the Kakheti regional police confiscated the television crew’s filming equipment. According to media reports, communication channels were also cut.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time that media representatives are not allowed to cover the protest freely and safely. As a result of the state’s inaction against violence and illegal interference, or as a result of the government itself obstructing the activities of journalists, we have already established a negative practice,” the coalition said, calling on “the authorities to immediately stop illegal interference in the activities of the media, to ensure that those responsible for the attack and obstruction are punished to the full extent of the law, and to create safe working conditions”.

According to online media outlet “Netgazeti”, the Public Defender’s Office has already started investigating the case of obstruction of a journalist of the “Formula TV”.

Note: The material was updated on May 22, 2023 with information about cases of obstruction of journalists covering the rally.

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This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)

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