All 37 detained at parliament rallies temporarily released

All 37 individuals who were detained during the November 18 rally dispersal in front of the parliament building of Georgia for hooliganism and disobedience to police have been temporarily released by a Tbilisi City Court judge late yesterday.

Discussions around the cases are scheduled to resume later today at the same court.

The leader of the political party Girchi Zurab Japaridze was released earlier per a personal release agreement, while 36 others were released late yesterday.

The protests in Tbilisi were sparked after the rejection of the election bill last week, proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, offering the transition to a fully proportional electoral system from 2020 instead of 2024.

Police dispersed a rally after warning the demonstrators and giving them half an hour to leave the scene. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge. 

The ruling party accepted the changes in the summer, during the June protests in Tbilisi, to calm crowds.

The demonstrators and detainees are accusing the government of ‘breaking its promise and cheating the people.’

Police dispersed the rally with the use of water cannons at parliament on Monday after warning the demonstrators “who violated the 9th article of the law on manifestation,” which bans blocking the entrances of parliament and hampering the work of the legislative body.