The Daily Beat: 19 February

On the 84th consecutive day of anti-regime protests, demonstrators continue to rally at the Rustaveli Avenue. Their demands remain the same: the snap elections and the release of all individuals detained during the rallies. Despite the heavy police presence and the risks of detentions, fines, and intimidation, protesters again blocked the traffic on Rustaveli Avenue.

Lasha Jioshvili, a cameraman for the opposition-leaning media outlet TV Pirveli, was abducted in central Tbilisi yesterday late at night by unidentified individuals. Witnesses claimed that people in black wore no police insignia or marking.  Later, police said that Jioshvili was arrested for disobeying a lawful order of the police.

Another activist, Sergo Mariamidze, has been detained on unspecified administrative charges. According to a Facebook post by Zviad Mariamidze, they were stopped by police for identification while returning from a rally on Atoneli Street. Zviad was released after 20 minutes, but Sergo was taken to the Zahesi detention facility. For more updates on the Georgian resistance, follow our live blog.

The Georgian Dream Parliament has re-elected four members to the Central Election Commission (CEC). Giorgi Dzagania, Dimitri Javakhadze, and Giorgi Chikaberidze each received 83 votes, while Giorgi Javakhishvili received 84 votes.  Shalva Papuashvili, the GD speaker, said that the election of these candidates has made the “CEC fully staffed with professional members.”

The Georgian watchdogs – TI -Georgia, European Orbit, and the Rule of Law Center – issued a report revealing worrying trends in the Georgian justice system, including the use of law enforcement institutions against participants in pro-European protests, the absence of a fair trial, and the use of detention as the most severe measure of restraint without proper justification.