Georgian police used pepper spray and stun grenades on Wednesday evening to disperse demonstrators near parliament who were opposing the law on "foreign agents." The Girchi - More Freedom party said that the security forces also fired a rubber bullet at one of the party's leaders, Tsotne Koberidze. This was reported by UNN with references to Georgian media.
Details
Police intervened in a crowd of approximately 40,000 protesters that gathered in the capital after parliament passed the controversial "foreign agents" law in the second reading.
It is known that the police used pepper spray against the protesters and used a water cannon. The spray was also sprayed on Rustaveli Avenue.
The protesters also blocked the road near the House of Justice. They walked from the parliament to the House of Justice and blocked the road there.
In addition, barricades were set on fire on April 9. The President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili addressed the protesters. She made an emergency appeal to stop the riots.
Move away from the doors of the parliament, nothing is happening inside now... These doors will not solve anything except the use of gas and violence, which we do not need to provoke...
According to media reports, the security forces used rubber bullets against the protesters, as they did the day before. The firing of rubber bullets was reported by the party "Girchi - More Freedom". The video shows one of the party's leaders, Tsotne Koberidze. He was shot in the arm and stomach. It is noted that before the shots were fired, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that all security forces had left the area around the parliament building.
At the same time, the Georgian Interior Ministry denies using rubber bullets to disperse the rally near the parliament. This statement was made to journalists at an emergency briefing by Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Darakhvelidze.
To repel the attack on the parliament building, the police used special means established by law - water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray. Despite having full legal grounds, the police did not use rubber bullets.
However, the police confirmed the use of force against the protesters. However, according to the authorities, pepper spray and water cannons were used because "after the security forces left the area around the parliament, the protesters became aggressive and tried to damage the iron doors of the entrance to the legislative body.
Moreover, a "red alert" was declared in the Georgian Parliament building.
The "red level of danger" was introduced at 23:00 on May 1. Only persons whose presence is absolutely necessary may be in the building, and this list is approved by the head of the parliamentary staff. ... The "red alert level" was introduced "in connection with the attack on the building of the Parliament of Georgia, which poses a danger to the life and health of people who are there."
Despite such statements by the authorities, people are not going to disperse and continue their peaceful protest near the Parliament building.
Recall
Earlier, UNN , citing Novosti Georgia, wrote that the Georgian Parliament voted for the law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" in the second reading.
According to media reports, 83 deputies voted in favor and 23 voted against.