Norwegian rights defender gives details of attack on observers in Djikhashkari

During the attack on the polling station in the village of Djikhashkari, Zugdidi District of Georgia, the attackers took away observers' telephones, and hit one female observer on the head, said Mina Skouen, a Norwegian rights defender and a member of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 8, Georgia held its parliamentary elections; the contenders were six electoral blocs and 19 parties.

At 7:45 p.m. on October 8, a mobile team of international observers went into polling station No. 108 in the village of Djikhashkari to observe the vote counting procedure, Mina Skouen told the "Caucasian Knot".

"About a quarter to midnight, some 10-15 people broke into the room and tried to prevent the vote counting. They ran up to the table, pulled out ballot papers and threw them off the table," said Ms Skouen.

"Our observers tried to fix the violations by means of their smartphone cameras. Having seen this, attackers rushed to the observers, took away their phones and hit one of the women on her head," said Mina Skouen.

The policemen, who were present at the station, took no action to prevent the crime, said the rights defender.

After the incident, observers wrote an official application at the police station of the village of Djikhashkari.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.