NGOs and opposition hold protest action in Tbilisi

Activists of several NGOs, youth organizations and oppositional parties have held a protest action near Tbilisi courts, where in May 2005 Zurab Vazagashvili and Alexander Khubulov were killed in a police special operation.

The main demand of the protesters was to carry out repeated inquiries into resonant cases, including the death of Vazagashvili and Khubulov.

Zurab Vazagashvili and Alexander Khubulov were killed on May 2, 2005, by policemen. According to the police, they were preparing an armed assault on one of Tbilisi families. Their relatives and friends refuted this version and demanded a thorough investigation of the case.

Prior to the protest action, oppositionists held a symbolic march along the streets of Tbilisi, past the buildings of the MIA and Prosecutor's Office of Georgia. Protesters even blocked - for several minutes - the traffic; however, after the action it was restored.

Levan Gachechiladze, co-chairman of the Georgian Party, in his turn, said that "the civil duty and responsibility mean joint struggle against injustice and violence," the "News-Georgia" reports.

The "Caucasian Knot" has also reported that in Georgia activists of the oppositional Representative People's Assembly announced preparation of a series of large-scale protests. The first action of dissenters will be held on May 21 in several major cities across the country.