In Georgia, "People's Assembly" asks rights defenders to help their imprisoned supporters

The oppositional movement "People's Assembly" has spread an appeal running that dozens of people detained after the dispersal of the protest action on May 26 are kept in custody in most severe conditions. In this regard, the movement asks human rights and other nongovernmental organizations, as well as lawyers, to provide assistance to detainees.

"Most of those detained at night on May 26 were administratively punished in such manner that neither their relatives nor third persons were notified about the verdicts," says the statement of the "People's Assembly".

"Despite the fact that Article 281 of the Code of Administrative Offences of Georgia provides for challenging a court decision within 48 hours, it was absolutely impossible to make use of this provision. No information was given on detainees' whereabouts and the date of the hearing," says the statement.

The "People's Assembly" has also addressed the diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia with a request to monitor the restoration of detainees' legitimate rights; otherwise, along with all other rules the most important norms of the Charter of the European Court of Human Rights may be violated.

Meanwhile, at the today's traditional briefing, Nino Kalandadze, Deputy Foreign Minister, has stated that international organizations varied in their estimates of the crackdown. "Their estimates focus on the need to investigate the incident. An adequate investigation will be surely conducted, and due decisions taken," she said.

Also today, the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia has presented a charge to Badri Bitsadze, Nino Burjanadze's husband and former head of the Georgia's Frontier Department, of preparing armed provocations during the protest action of the "People's Assembly".