After a tumultuous night of staunch opposition to the Foreign Agents Law, during which police violently cracked down on peaceful demonstrators, the Georgian Parliament continues deliberations on the law in its second reading. The legislature will vote on the bill today, April 1. Citizens will again protest the bill in the capital, this time with many coming from other regions of Georgia as well.
As the session was about to begin, the plenary hall was closed to journalists because of a scuffle between MPs. Opposition MP Teona Akubardia told journalists outside the the plenary hall that this was caused by “[Parliament Speaker] Papuashvili’s fake attempt to express his concern about the beating of [UNM leader] Khabeishvili.” This, she said, was followed by the “throwing of a book” by People’s Power MP Dimitri Khundaze and subsequently the standoff among the MPs.
Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili opened the session by commenting on last night’s events. He praised law enforcement for its crackdown on citizens, saying, “We have seen a rally that was turned into violence by politicians,” and specifically referred to UNM leader Levan Khabeishvili, who was severely beaten by police. Papuashvili said: “He [Khabeishvili] received some injuries, the investigation is underway.” This statement was followed by a verbal standoff between the ruling majority and opposition MPs over the events of the previous night.
Levan Khabeishvili, the leader of the UNM, who had been severely beaten by the police despite strong recommendations that he be hospitalized, also arrived at the parliament in a wheelchair with visible multiple bruises and lacerations on his face, a severely injured eye, and a broken nose, and addressed the MPs. He said that as he was being detained, the police pressured him to say that he was a coward, threatening to beat him if he did not, and after he refused, he was beaten by several police officers. He also said: “I may not see with my eye, but Georgia will see [clearly] in five months time.” He also called on the ruling majority to withdraw the law.
As the session opened the opposition MPs began to make critical remarks about last night’s crackdown on citizens and reiterated the call for the withdrawal of the draft bill. In all these cases, the Speaker of the Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, turned off their microphones. So far, four opposition MPs, Tamar Charkviani of Law and Justice Party, Salome Samadashvili of Lelo for Georgia, Giorgi Botkoveli and Tina Bokuchava of UNM, have been expelled from the session.
More to follow…
Also Read:
- 01/05/2024 – International Reactions to Police Crackdown on Protest against Foreign Agents Bill
- 01/05/2024 – MIA: 63 People Arrested During Rally Against Agents Law
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