Tbilisi protesters demand to release their detained comrades

In the evening on June 21, in Tbilisi, protesters again gathered at the parliament building and demanded from Giorgi Gakhariya, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), to resign. Oppositionists also demanded to liberate all those detained during protests at the previous night.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 21, law enforcers dispersed the protest action, launched on June 20 in front of the parliament building of Georgia. According to the Georgian Ministry for Public Health, 240 people were hospitalized, and some of them were seriously injured.

The protests will continue until Giorgi Gakhariya resigns; and all the detainees released, the rally participants in Rustaveli Avenue have stated.

The action at the parliament took place without the participation of political figures: protesters drove Giorgi Ugulava, one of the leaders of the opposition "European Georgia" Party, out of the rally by throwing empty plastic bottles at him.

Ugulava had planned to speak on air of one of TV channels amid protests, but his appearance in Rustaveli Avenue caused protesters' outrage, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports with reference to the Georgian "Channel One".

According to protesters, Tbilisi police stations are overcrowded with detainees; some of them are even sent to country's regions.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 22, 2019 at 00:32 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.