Briefing of the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs - Aleksandre Darakhvelidze
As it is known to the public, protest rallies have been actively taking place for more than ten days, in various cities of Georgia and on Rustaveli Avenue in the vicinity of the Parliament.
The public has clearly seen a number of violent incidents during the ongoing rallies, unfortunately including violent incidents that took place yesterday, as a result of which journalists were injured. The Ministry of Internal Affairs condemns all forms of violence and each agency will make its best efforts to ensure that each perpetrator is punished to the full extent of the law. An investigation has been launched into each violent incident, both by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and in relevant agencies, and intensive investigative actions are being carried out in order to identify the perpetrators of the crime and bring them to justice.
During the protests, the public clearly saw that when the protest was held within the framework of the law on peaceful assembly manifestation, no violent incidents were witnessed, the police did not have to resort to force as envisioned by law, no violators were detained, and the rally participants had the opportunity to express their protest within the framework of the law.
However, people also witnessed gatherings where significant portion of participants used violent methods, both against police officers and other citizens.
Our citizens witnessed fire at legislative body, burned and destroyed infrastructure belonging to both private individuals and to Tbilisi City Hall - including benches, trash cans, and road signs. It was clear how the property of private owners was being destroyed.
We witnessed how one of the buildings on Rustaveli Avenue was caught on fire on purpose, complete destruction of infrastructure of outdoor cafes and bars, as well as vandalism of shop windows on Rustaveli Avenue, shops getting ransacked and looted.
Since November 28, numerous criminal acts have been committed by protest participants on Rustaveli Avenue and its surrounding area. Including a robbery attack on Swarovski store on Rustaveli Avenue, from which expensive items were stolen by individuals in masks dressed in black and armed with a knife. Approximately 60 counts of thefts were also recorded: including from shopping centers, stores, open bars, restaurants, and supermarkets.
Various types of equipment, cash, clothing and other items were stolen. Various inventory, including ATMs and cash registers, were first stolen from various facilities on Rustaveli Avenue, and then used as barricades.
Dozens of cases of theft of personal belongings have been reported. Citizens and private individuals are reporting damage to cars, motorcycles, scooters, outdoor inventory etc. The exterior facades of the political party "Georgian Dream", as well as the stores "Boss", "Time" and "Clean House" have been broken and damaged.
The financial damage sustained by private individuals and the state through criminal activities exceeds hundreds of thousands of Georgian Laris.
During live broadcasts, public witnessed rally participants deliberately destroying both private and state-owned video surveillance cameras located on Rustaveli Avenue. In order to further hinder police from investigating the crime on time and effectively. This has caused damage to both private individuals as well as to the state. There also have been numerous incidents of attacks and insults against citizens by violent groups.
The violent groups of the protest actively applied pyrotechnics, so-called Molotov cocktails, to carry out similar actions, and were armed with various items: iron and wooden batons, brass knuckles, and so-called "shurduli" (slingshots) to carry out attacks, by which they aimed and threw iron objects, deliberately damaging both police equipment and attacking police officers.
As a result of the mentioned actions, more than 150 police officers have been injured. Unfortunately, opposition parties, protest participants, and some media outlets are not addressing, nor has the public seen any condemnation of similar facts.
During the protests, as a result of attacks by violent groups, almost all of the injured police officers required emergency medical care, and a large number of them even underwent surgical intervention. Most of the police officers have various types of burns, fractures, and injuries to the head and face.
Even simple analysis clearly reveals that the motivating and determining factor of this violence may have been the feeling of impunity, preconditioned by the fact that perpetrators of violence covered their faces in masks, making them unrecognizable. The above-mentioned fact may be related to previous experience, when it was not possible to punish violent groups under criminal law due to the inability to identify disguised violent groups.
In summary, the state is obligated to ensure peaceful assembly and demonstration, for which it is necessary to regulate the legislative framework, as well as timely identification of violent groups during assemblies and demonstrations, their detection and punishment, ultimately leading to the prevention of crime during assemblies and demonstrations. Hence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs approves the Prime Minister's initiative to ban so-called masks at assemblies and demonstrations.
Its noteworthy that the ban on wearing masks and clothing that prevents a person from being identified during gatherings and demonstrations is practiced in many European countries.
For example, a similar law has been in effect in Germany since 1985. Herewith, laws banning masks during protests are in effect in Austria, Canada, Italy, Spain, and Belgium. Also, various forms of face coverings in public spaces are prohibited in a number of European countries.
We believe that the adoption of this law will significantly contribute to the peaceful conduction of assemblies and demonstrations, eliminate the feeling of impunity of violent groups at the rally, and allow the police to identify perpetrators in a timely manner and punish them appropriately.
We would like to remind the public that more than 30 people have been identified and brought to justice under criminal law within the framework of the protest held since November 28.
Furthermore, 372 persons have been administratively detained and proceedings have been initiated against them, out of which 62 have already been sentenced to administrative imprisonment, and more than 100 have been fined as a form of punishment. Court proceedings are actively in progress against the remaining persons.
We once again call on the organizers and participants of the assembly-demonstration to protest within the framework established by the Law on Peaceful Assembly. The police will protect the right of each peaceful protestor to assemble-demonstrate.
