Activist Lasha Chkhartishvili detained at Georgian parliament building in Tbilisi

Today, the protest action held outside the building of the Georgian Parliament resulted in a skirmish of activists with policemen. Lasha Chkhartishvili, an activist of the Labour Party of Georgia, was accused of petty hooliganism and disobedience to a law enforcer.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in the evening on December 30, 2019, in the avenue in front of the parliament, authorities removed the tents of the protesters, who are demanding to change the country's electoral system. On December 31, the city Mayoralty installed children's attractions instead of the tents.

During the today's protest action, members of the "Izmeni" (Change) movement and the above Lasha Chkhartishvili tried to get to the place, where the tents had earlier been set up, and attach photos of the dispersal of the rally on June 20, 2019, to the attraction facility. Policemen blocked their way, and a brawl broke out. Law enforcers took Lasha Chkhartishvili away with them, the Georgian TV Channel One has reported today on its website. The activists' aim was to support the entrepreneurs who refused to trade outside the parliament building, the channel has noted.

Lasha Chkhartishvili is accused under two articles of the administrative code – of petty hooliganism and disobedience to a law enforcer, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has reported. In their turn, the activists, who took part in the action, assert that Chkhartishvili was just "standing and protesting," the "InterPressNews" agency has reported.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 3, 2020 at 05:13 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.