Eyewitnesses report details of pogroms in Batumi

The pogroms in Batumi were arranged by participants of the organized rally, the eyewitnesses, political analysts and a journalist, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot", assert. According to their story, the demands were put forward by the participants of the first, spontaneous wave of protest, which was provoked by the police’s actions.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 11, in front of the building of the GUVD (Chief Interior Department) of Adjara, a protest action began, demanding to release the local residents, who had been detained on the eve in clashes with policemen, and to dismiss Malkhaz Batiashvili, the head of the patrol police.

The protest groups behaved differently, said Eter Turadze, the editor of the “Batumelebi” newspaper. According to her story, it is not known who among youth people and for what began smashing police cars.

The first wave was provoked by the actions of the policemen, who were too strict with the drivers in Adjara, said Gela Vasadze, a political analyst.

"For a violation worth 25-50 laris, they claimed 200-500 laris of fine; and, of course, the critical mass was growing," he explained.

Mr Vasadze has also noted that a rather complicated social situation is observed in Georgia, since after December 2016, the exchange rate of the national currency dropped sharply, which led to a decrease in population’s incomes. He also did not exclude a possible Russia's influence.

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