University Suspends Protesting Students, Watchdog Speaks Out About GD’s Suppression of Student Protest
The Shota Rustaveli Theater and Film University revoked the student status of some protesters today, March 10, a day after they were fined GEL 5,000 (about $1,800) for protesting inside the university building.
The Social Justice Center (SJC), a human rights watchdog, reacted to the police fines against the students by stating that the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) government is using an “unconstitutional” legal norm to suppress student protests. The watchdog referred to a recently passed amendment that bans protests in closed spaces without the owner’s consent.
The students, who have been protesting at the Theater University for 83 consecutive days, were told to leave the university’s foyer on March 9 after the cleaning service began an unannounced disinfection early in the morning. The students say that the university administration told them to move to the tiny space of just five square meters for the protest, which they refused to do. The university administration quickly called the police, who first warned the students to leave the university foyer, but soon returned and fined the protesting students who remained at the site GEL, 5000 each. The university administration called the police for a third time. Faced with up to 15 days in administrative detention, the protesting students decided to leave the university.
The SJC says the government “illegally breaches” the students’ right to assembly and stresses that their protest, which did not disrupt the normal functioning of the educational process, did not create conditions for the government to restrict their constitutional rights.
The watchdog also said that newly adopted amendments to the country’s administrative code, under which police fined the protesting students, are “unconstitutional” and “serve to punish and intimidate protesters.
The SJC also condemned the Theater university administration for working against the interests of its students.
As the nationwide anti-government resistance in Georgia continues for over 100 days, students of several universities have expressed their protest inside the university buildings. The Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film University has been at the forefront of student resistance. The students who recently had their status revoked said they would continue their protest in other forms.
After the students reported the decision of the university’s ethics committee to suspend their status, which was met with public outrage, the university said its rector has yet to order the expulsion of the students. Until then, the students can appeal the ethics committee’s decision to the rector. The rector has one month to make a final decision.
NOTE: This news article was updated at 4:45 p.m. on March 10 to include the university’s clarification regarding the suspension of the students’ status.
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