Three trade union activists arrested in Georgia

The Kutaisi Court has sentenced three activists of the trade union movement, who organized the protest action at the steel plant from September 13 to 15, to 10 days of administrative arrest.

Irakly Iobidze, Emilo Gumberidze, and Malkhaz Gogiava were arrested on charges of rendering resistance to policemen. During the week, it is already the second incident with the trade union movement activists: earlier, Iobidze, Gumberidze, and Gogiava were arrested together with 13 workers during the dispersion of the protest rally at the metallurgical plant "Hercules" at night on September 16. They were accused of instigating the strike.

"Iobidze, Gumberidze, and Gogiava were the leaders of the trade union committee, which organized the strike on September 13. They were arrested, since they did not stop their work, they were on Saturday (September 17) in Tbilisi, they had copies of the newspaper articles about the dispersion of the strike and texts of the appeals of workers to the non-governmental sector and international community. And the authorities wanted to intimidate these people," Tamaz Dolaberidze, Chairman of the trade union of the mining and metallurgical industry, believes.