Interior ministry to pay GEL 35k to victim of June 20 Tbilisi protest
Luka Petriashvili is one of the peaceful demonstrators, who were injured with rubber bullets during the June 20 dispersal in front of the parliament of Georgia in 2019. Photo: Nino Alavidze/genda.ge archive
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Tbilisi City Court has obliged the Georgian Interior Ministry to pay victim of the June 20, 2019 Tbilisi protest Luka Petriashvili a total of 35,000 GEL, his lawyer Beka Basilaia has announced earlier today.
The court says that the state has committed unlawful, illegal acts against Luka, as a result of which he received both – physical and moral damage and lost ability to work, therefore, the interior ministry has been ordered to pay the compensation”, Basilaia said.
275 individuals, including 32 journalists and 80 law enforcers, were injured during a clash on Rustaveli Avenue on June 20 which was sparked by the presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament.
Luka Petriashvili received three bullets – two in his stomach and one in his face. Photo: Georgian Service of RadioFree Europe/Radio Liberty/Archive
Then Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia [now the leader of opposition For Georgia party] said in a TV interview that the rally became “violent” late at night on June 20 following “a systematic and organised” attack on the parliament building. Gakharia also said that he gave the order for the rally to be dispersed after some of the demonstrators decided to storm the parliament building.
Find out more about the June 20, 2019 protest through the lens of Agenda.ge photographer Nino Alavidze:
- Protests erupt in Tbilisi after Russian Duma MP takes tribune of Georgian parliament's speaker in capital
- Day two of Tbilisi protests: citizens replace political figures in peaceful rally
Earlier this year the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) launched hearings in cases concerning the excessive use of force by the state and the failure to conduct an effective investigation into the actions taken against journalists and protesters during the dispersal of a rally in June 20-21, 2019.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has launched hearings in cases concerning the excessive use of force by the state and the failure to conduct an effective investigation into the actions taken against journalists and protesters during the dispersal of a rally in June 20-21, 2019.
Three civilians who received injuries during the June 20 rally dispersal in central Tbilisi have been granted victim status, the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office has reported.
The human rights defender Sopho Verdzeuli said the Tbilisi protest of June 20 in front of the parliament of Georgia “became violent” after around 10 p.m. “Quite a lot of demonstrators were physically attacking police officers from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m., grabbing their equipment, pulling police officers out of the cordon”, Verdzeuli wrote on her Facebook page.
32 journalists received injuries during the June 20 demonstration in Tbilisi, many of them were shot by rubber bullet shots, the Georgian Charter of Journalist Ethics said earlier today.
Besarion Bendeliani, opposition For Georgia party mayor candidate in Tsageri claims his car has been shot at last night. "I went out and saw that my car was damaged, [it was] shot at. There was no sound [although] it is a very densely populated place", Bendeliani said. He connects the assault with his political activities.