Activists have blocked traffic in central Tbilisi for the 249th day in a row

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, on August 2, on the 248th day of continuous actions, the protesters at the Georgian Parliament blocked traffic on Rustaveli Avenue. The march passed through the center of Batumi, its participants also expressed support for those arrested for participating in the protests, including journalist Mzia Amaglobeli.

On the 249th day of the continuous protest, its participants again blocked traffic on Rustaveli Avenue, Publika reported today.

The demands of the protesters remain unchanged: holding new parliamentary elections and the release of those detained during the protests, Interpressnews reports.

The protesters near the parliament building were joined by participants of the march from the old building of the Public Broadcaster, which took place under the slogan "The people deserve an independent Public Broadcaster."

Protesters lit candles in memory of those killed two years ago in Shovi.

Protesters outside the Georgian parliament are holding Georgian flags, as well as posters in support of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli and activist Nino Datashvili, the agency’s publication says.

Recall that Mzia Amaglobeli faces up to seven years in prison on charges of attacking Batumi police chief Irakli Dgebuadze, whom the journalist slapped. At a court hearing on July 14, she explained that before that, a security officer subjected her to inhumane treatment in the police station: according to Amaglobeli, the slap was “impulsive reaction to humiliating treatment", and she does not regret what she did. Details of the case are given in the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Mzia Amaglobeli Case: Circumstances of the Arrest and the Campaign to Protect the Journalist".

42-year-old activist and social studies teacher Nino Datashvili, accused in a criminal case of attacking bailiffs in the building of the Tbilisi City Court, was sent for compulsory psychiatric examination. The defense considered this decision illegal.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Datashvili tried to get to the hearing on the case of the protesters and used violence against the bailiffs, who did not let her into the courtroom, since the hearing had already begun and there were no free seats left. According to the video recording of the incident, four bailiffs surrounded the woman in the court corridor, and one one of them grabbed her by the shoulder. The woman began to wave her hands, while she hit the bailiffs several times with her palm. After that, the bailiffs threw her to the floor and then dragged her out of the corridor.