The News in Brief
Friday, March 10, 2023
Prepared by Messenger Staff
Public Defender Levan Ioseliani Says opposition leader Zurab Japaridze Has Most Serious Injuries Among March 8 Rally Detainees
The Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, visited people detained at the March 8 rally and said that Zurab Japaridze, the leader of Girchi-More for Freedom, has the most serious visible injury among those arrested on Rustaveli Avenue, who is placed in the Solitary confinement in the Main division of police department.
"I visited all the detainees who are here in this Solitary confinement. There are 25 detainees here, we had a face-to-face conversation with all of them and I heard about the circumstances under which they were detained. Several of them have external injuries, I visited, and of course, Zura Japaridze, who is here, also has external injuries.
All stated that they had consulted a doctor and had been visited by a doctor. In addition to that, several of them claim that they were arrested under unknown conditions, and suddenly, when they had nothing to do with the rally, they were just standing there. one of them was a passer-by, who said that they grabbed him by hand and put him in the car," Ioseliani said.
Democracy Research Institute published a statement on Zurab Japaridze and said that at least three articles of the European Convention were violated against opposition leader Zurab Japaridze.
Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia Shalva Papuashvili accuses President Zourabichvili of 'romanticizing violence'
The President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili shared a video of young people dancing to the sound of sirens to her personal Facebook page and wrote: "They are dancing to the sound of sirens. A generation of cool young people."
Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia Shalva Papuashvili responded to the President's post and said that he is surprised how political groups or non-governmental organizations are able to express sympathy or empathy towards violence.
He expressed disappointment that the president had 'romanticized violence'. According to him, when there is an operation to restore order by the police, people expect the president to call for peace and not romanticize the encouragement of disobedience to the police.
"I'm very disappointed by the position of the president, who somewhat romanticized this violence yesterday when she posted one of the videos and described it as teenagers dancing to sirens. These sirens were police event sirens, meaning that there was violence and the police had to restore order. When the president romanticizes teenagers dancing in the background of sirens, this is not the attitude that the president should have towards the parliament, and I, as the chairman of the parliament, am obliged to emphasize this," Papuashvili said.
All 133 Detainees Released, MIA Says
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the 133 people detained at protest rallies in the last couple of days were released from administrative custody.
"On March 7 and 8 of this year, on March 7 and 8 of this year, at the protest action held in the vicinity of the Parliament, all the persons arrested in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses were released.
Some of the detainees were brought before the court. And the rest of the persons were released on the basis of the expiration of the term of stay in the pre-trial detention isolator.
In the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the investigation in connection with the violent events that took place on March 7-8 continues under Articles 353 and 187 of the Criminal Code of Georgia," reads the MIA statement.
Public Defender Levan Ioseliani Says opposition leader Zurab Japaridze Has Most Serious Injuries Among March 8 Rally Detainees
"I visited all the detainees who are here in this Solitary confinement. There are 25 detainees here, we had a face-to-face conversation with all of them and I heard about the circumstances under which they were detained. Several of them have external injuries, I visited, and of course, Zura Japaridze, who is here, also has external injuries.
All stated that they had consulted a doctor and had been visited by a doctor. In addition to that, several of them claim that they were arrested under unknown conditions, and suddenly, when they had nothing to do with the rally, they were just standing there. one of them was a passer-by, who said that they grabbed him by hand and put him in the car," Ioseliani said.
Democracy Research Institute published a statement on Zurab Japaridze and said that at least three articles of the European Convention were violated against opposition leader Zurab Japaridze.
Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia Shalva Papuashvili accuses President Zourabichvili of 'romanticizing violence'
Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia Shalva Papuashvili responded to the President's post and said that he is surprised how political groups or non-governmental organizations are able to express sympathy or empathy towards violence.
He expressed disappointment that the president had 'romanticized violence'. According to him, when there is an operation to restore order by the police, people expect the president to call for peace and not romanticize the encouragement of disobedience to the police.
"I'm very disappointed by the position of the president, who somewhat romanticized this violence yesterday when she posted one of the videos and described it as teenagers dancing to sirens. These sirens were police event sirens, meaning that there was violence and the police had to restore order. When the president romanticizes teenagers dancing in the background of sirens, this is not the attitude that the president should have towards the parliament, and I, as the chairman of the parliament, am obliged to emphasize this," Papuashvili said.
All 133 Detainees Released, MIA Says
"On March 7 and 8 of this year, on March 7 and 8 of this year, at the protest action held in the vicinity of the Parliament, all the persons arrested in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses were released.
Some of the detainees were brought before the court. And the rest of the persons were released on the basis of the expiration of the term of stay in the pre-trial detention isolator.
In the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the investigation in connection with the violent events that took place on March 7-8 continues under Articles 353 and 187 of the Criminal Code of Georgia," reads the MIA statement.