Thousands of people went to the streets of the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Thursday evening to protest the court’s decision, which sent a 21-year-old activist Mate Devidze for 4.5 years in prison for an attack on police officers he allegedly committed during anti-government protests. AFP has described Thursday’s protest as the biggest in other months, writes TASR.
The activist and musician Devidze was detained in November 2024 during the Assembly, which the participants asked for new parliamentary elections. This demonstration took place before Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobachidze announced the suspension of negotiations on Georgia’s accession to the EU, which in the country subsequently caused even more massive protests.
The judgment has triggered responses
Devidze was condemned on Thursday by the Tbilisi City Court. Thousands of demonstrators calling for his liberation went to the streets of the metropolis. “In any case, we will not stay at home when they close political prisoners … We will not just look at how they make a Georgian dictatorship,” said AFP 20-year-old student Gio.
The prosecutor’s office in court claimed that Devidze injured the club of three policemen who intervened against the demonstrators.
Allegations and questioning
Devidze denied it and said he participated in the protests “to calmly express his disagreement with the divert (Georgia) from direction to the EU”. At the same time, he accused the judge of being the executor of the government’s “orders” and pointed out that no one has been taken responsibility for the beating of journalists and demonstrators to which the protests were on the protests. He described the whole hearing as unfair and left the courtroom before the judgment was filed. His advocates questioned the credibility of the testimonies of the police.
At the final hearing was also Georgian ex -president Salome Zurabišvili, who described the judgment as “shameful” and “parody of justice”. Devidze’s supporters and relatives were crying after the judgment.
The protests continue
This trial is part of a series of court proceedings against opposition leaders and activists. Judgments over other accused are expected in the coming weeks.
Protests in Georgia have been running continuously for 197 days. However, participation in them decreased from the initial tens of thousands to several hundred demonstrators a day. Many of them were repeatedly imposed by police officers for high fines for participation in an anti -government event. Thursday’s protest, however, has described AFP as the largest in other months.
Use of force towards demonstrators
In the first weeks of protests, the police often used tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators and detained hundreds of people, AFP recalled. Amnesty International’s human rights organization and the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Ombudsman have also accused security forces of “torture” detainees.
