Batumi City Court Sentenced Tsotne Ananidze to One-Month Pretrial Detention

Batumi City Court sentenced Tsotne Ananidze, head of Batumi office of the People’s Assembly to one-month pretrial detention.

He was charged under Article 222 of the Criminal Code of Georgia that is violation of public safety and public order. Ananidze is also blamed for disobedience to police officers.

“Tsotne is charged for the crime he has not committed. On May 21, when riot police dispersed demonstrators in front of the Batumi TV-Company, Tsotne was not there; we were together trying to call our colleagues in Tbilisi; so he could neither disobey the police, nor siege the TV-Company. Tsotne was not even in the party office when police officers arrested our 16 activists. However, he was on the list of people who were to be arrested. As you know, police was arresting people in Batumi according to that list. Ananidze was in Tbilisi when he was called from the prosecutor’s office and told they wanted to interrogate him as a witness. He arrived at the prosecutor’s office where he was arrested,” said Manana Salukvadze from the People’s Assembly and added that next trial on Ananidze’s case is scheduled for July 16.

Lawyers Edisher Makharadze and Medea Vasadze represent Ananidze at the court. The charge against the detainee is punished by imprisonment from 2 to 4 years.

News Agency “Pirveli”