Georgian Public Defender: police had legitimate right to use force at June protests, but proportion questionable
She noted that there is no information in the investigation materials about who gave the order to use the bullets and the police say that they started using the weapons independently to protect themselves. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The police had a legitimate right to use force at the June 20-21 rally dispersal, but it remains to be seen how proportionate the force used was and whether the force or weapons used by the police were lawful, says Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria.
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At the beginning, the rally was peaceful, but after a certain period of time some protesters began acting violently, so when there is violence, the police certainly have the legitimate right to use force and disperse the rally or use other mechanisms", said Lomjaria.
Lomjaria also noted that there were no warnings from police before using opening fire.
She noted that there is no information in the investigation materials about who gave the order to use the bullets and the police say that they started using the weapons independently to protect themselves.
Lomjaria noted that the former head of the Special Tasks Department on site knew that police did not have the order to use the bullets but he did not do anything to prevent them from using them. She thinks there are grounds to start criminal proceedings against this person.
A peaceful demonstration will be held in front of the parliament of Georgia in downtown Tbilisi later today, one year after the June 20 protest, triggered by the presence of Russian MP Sergey Gavrilov in the Georgian parliament. Calling on citizens to join them at 7pm today, the organisers of the rally said they will follow all of the recommendations of the World Health Organisation.
Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria has released her annual report for human rights in 2019, as well as a special report on the June protests in Tbilisi in which she said that the former head of Special Tasks Department of Interior Ministry should be held accountable for abuse of authority.
The United States Embassy in Georgia has offered its reactions to the developments in Tbilisi where protesters repeatedly clashed with police, saying the diplomatic mission closely followed the events and urged for calm.
Morning of June 20 protests outside Georgian parliament
Political opposition and part of the public erupted in protest in Tbilisi on Thursday after a Russian State Duma MP took a seat of the chairman of the Parliament of Georgia for an address to the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy in the capital.