Clubs and Tear Gas used against Students in Batumi

Students at Batumi State University were in their class rooms when tear gas was released into class rooms during lectures. Injured students were taken from the university building by emergency medical personnel.

22 year-old Tamta Badjelidze, who is five months pregnant, was poisoned by gas and taken to the Batumi hospital . However, Tamta refused to stay at the hospital, despite physicians’ warnings that without hospital care she risks her baby’s health.

There were hundreds of policemen surrounding the university, waiting for further orders. According to Davit Berdia, the head of Adjara’s Main Department of the Interior Ministry, all means will be used if necessary.

Merab Gogogberidze, the leader of the youth department of the Republican Party, was detained while giving interviews to journalists in front of the University building. For now, it is unclear where he is and what the motivation was behind his detention.
The officers of the Interior Ministry forced journalists to leave the area of the university, going so far as to threaten them with detention if they did not.

The lecturers are angry with the administration for allowing riot police to enter the University building, especially as students are not allowed to enter the premises without a student ID card.

Students from other institutions later joined the university students. Students from the art school passed out papers with prayers written on them to students and lecturers. However, one of the riot police seized the papers.

Maka Malakmadze, Batumi