MIA Disperses and Detains Peaceful Demonstrators Near TSU

On November 19, police violently dispersed the 48-hour rally near Tbilisi State University, reportedly detaining about a dozen of demonstrators. The dispersal began early in the morning, and one of the detainees, a Mtavari TV cameraman, has been released several hours later.

According to Nona Kurdovanidze, Chairperson of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, by 10:12 a.m. the organization received calls about 12 people who had been arrested. Their lawyers are still trying to determine the whereabouts of some of the detainees. Interior Ministry still has not made a statement about the detentions.

The Coalition for Change reported that the police detained several members, including Manuchar Chachanidze and Saba Tskhvitaridze, during the crackdown on Melikishvili Avenue. Another member, Rezi Dumbadze, was also arrested, while Nika Kvitatiani, one of the members, suffered injuries, reportedly due to pepper spray, and was hospitalized.

The Mediaombudsman reported that during the dispersal of the rally, representatives of the special forces obstructed journalistic activities and detained some media representatives. The organization noted:

• Obstruction of journalistic activity of the online media outlet OC Media‘s journalist Mariam Nikuradze;
• Not allowing the correspondent of the online media Netgazeti, Givi Avaliani, to take pictures;
• Detention of Mtavari TV cameraman Sergi Baramidze;
• Physical assault of journalist Mindia Gabadze of the online media outlet Publika.

The Mediaombudsman called on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to stop assaulting the demonstrators and media representatives. It also reported that it had already contacted the Special Investigation Service to “immediately start” investigations into the above cases.

Notably, it has been reported that Mtavari TV’s Sergi Baramidze has been released from detention.

Civil society organizations have condemned the actions of the MIA. The GYLA called on the law enforcement agencies to allow the peaceful demonstrators to exercise their right to freedom of expression and urged them not to arrest the demonstrators in an early morning statement. In a joint statement, the International Society for Fair Elections And Democracy (ISFED), Transperency International Georgia and Civil Society Foundation emphasized thet the police “grossly violates the freedoms of assembly and expression of citizens” during such violent dispersals of peaceful rallies, urging MIA “to act strictly within the limits of law, not to comply with the unlawful instructions of the ruling party, and to respect the fundamental rights and liberties of the peaceful demonstrators.”

The Public Defender of Georgia also issued a statement, emphasizing that when law enforcement officials began detaining people on Melikishvili Avenue, “the protest was peaceful and in accordance with the norms of freedom of assembly.” The Ombudsman notes that “there may have been improper treatment or excessive use of force by the police” against the demonstrators.

“The Public Defender calls on the Ministry of Interior to ensure the freedom of peaceful assembly of demonstrators, not to prevent journalists from carrying out their activities, and to strictly observe the criteria of necessity and proportionality in the use of detention measures and special means. Furthermore, the Public Defender calls on the Special Investigation Service to investigate and inform the public of any case that shows signs of a possible crime against journalists/demonstrators,” reads the Ombudsman’s statement.

Another CSO, the Democratic Research Centre (DRC), also notes that the MIA used disproportionate force to disperse the rally, stressing that there was no need for such violent actions on the part of the police.

DRC states that several circumstances make the actions of the police illegal: “The peaceful character of the assembly and the peaceful behavior of its participants; the disproportionally high number of police forces and severity of physical force used; absence of any kind of warning from the state and local authorities regarding the same action that has been going on for two days.”

DRC urges the MIA to provide all necessary conditions for the media and lawyers to carry out their professional duties. The organization notes that any violent action and the person responsible for the illegal order to disperse the rally should be considered. The Centre calls on the Ministry to ensure that similar violations do not occur in the future.

This news was updated at 14:50 with the DRC  statement

Follow our live blog for more updates.

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