Rally-Concert Raises Around USD 125 000 for Arrested, Fined Protesters of Agents Law
The June 2 rally-concert, held in defiance of the law on foreign agents and the campaign of intimidation and terror against citizens, and with the aim of collecting donations for those arrested and fined at these rallies over the past two months, raised GEL 348 000 (about USD 124 700) by 14:00 of June 3, according to Human Rights House Tbilisi, a local civil society organization that organized the fund-raising. The donations continue to arrive.
The rally-concert “Musicians for the European Future” was held at the Republic Square in the capital Tbilisi with the participation of up to 30 well-known Georgian bands and singers. The concert began at 9:00 p.m. and lasted several hours, with thousands of people in attendance. The concert was broadcast by the leading opposition-leaning television channels, with the bank requisites for payment displayed throughout the concert.
Dozens of demonstrators who took part in rallies against the Foreign Agents Law were fined for various administrative offenses, including petty hooliganism, disobeying the police, violence during the rally, illegal blocking of the road, etc., with fines ranging from GEL 500 (about USD 180) to GEL 5000 (USD 1800). The arrests and fines reflect a trend of using the administrative offenses’ cases to intimidate political opponents and the critics of the GD government.
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