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Government Suppressing Street Actions by Series of Imprisonments

May 10, 2011

Sopo Getsadze

On May 7th Rustavi police raided Public Assembly action and detained 12 participants. According to the representative of the assembly, the policemen started detaining the action participants after an anonymous individual punched the law-enforcement official.

The incident occurred at the end of the action in front of the house of police high official Valeri Dughashvili. According to the Public Assembly, the participants did not know the abovementioned anonymous individual. Law-enforcement officials did not try to detain this man after he punched the policeman.

Seven detained individuals are the representatives of Public Assembly and five – movement Ara. Some detained individuals were taken straight to the Court; some were placed in the cells of preliminary detainment.

9 individuals transferred to the court were sentenced with imprisonment and imposed with fine. According to Public Assembly, Levan Chitadze, Gocha Tedoradze and Vasil Balakhadze were sentenced with 30-day imprisonment; Davit Dalakishvili and Shalva Makharashvili – 15-day and Gia Nozadze, Gela Nakashidze and Kakha Salukvadze – 7-day. Nika Samkharadze, Mirian Janiashvili, Giorgi Paresashvili and a juvenile Nika Lapiashvili were imposed with 400-400 GEL fine.

The verdict was passed by the judges Laria Liparteliani, Ekaterine Partenishvili and Lasha Chkhikvadze. The Court charged them with the minor hooliganism and disobedience to the law-enforcement.

According to the lawyer of the detained activists, Manana Kobakhidze, the representatives of Public Assembly and Ara had not violated the Georgian Law on Assemblies and Manifestations. Accordingly, the lawyer assumed that the activists would be detained under the charge of minor hooliganism and disobedience to police order. According to her, the police exceeded its authority.

The opposition reacted upon the fact of detainment of the action participants. The political movement Tetrebi (Whites) perceives that the detainment of the Public Assembly participants is “a confirmation of provocative ways of Saakashvili frightened by May 21st.”

“The individual who punched the policeman was sent by the government. Instead of arresting him, the government arrests the accusers of the policemen,” – explains the leader of Tetrebi Temur Shashiashvili.

“Today’s action confirmed that Saakashvili’s regime is in agony and is afraid of May 21st,” – stated the representative of Democratic Movement – Just Georgia Irakli Batiashvili.

“In order to suppress the protest mood of the society, government addresses the terror and exemplary imprisonments to intimidate the people and avoid the street actions. Violence produces violence! We are warning government to stop this intimidation. The protest of people is inevitable. We are calling on the law-enforcement officials and patrol police to stop raiding and arresting the peaceful participants of action: you are serving the state, the people and not the rulers,” - states the Civil Front.

“Saakashvili intimidated by the activity of people uses provocations and violent means for suppressing people’s protest. The goal of the repressions is to suppress the protest mood of society and plant fear. But these measures will not bring results. The freedom wave from the Arab world has reached Georgia,” – states Georgian Party.

The leader of the movement Free Georgia Kakha Kukava and the head of civil movement Solidarity to Illegal Prisoners Eka Beselia assess the imprisonments as “new wave of repressions.” “The cynical actions of the patrol service should be particularly emphasized. We are warning the government to stop intimidating public with violent means. They cannot stop the fight of our organizations against the criminal regime,” – reads the joint statement of Kukava and Beselia.

The Labor Party also condemned the detainment of the action participants and requested the immediate release of the detainees.

The protest action was held on May 7th in Rustavi, in front of the house of police high official Valeri Dughashvili. The action participants accused Dughashvili in corruption.

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