Civil activists protest amnesty bill for June 2019 rallies amid its adoption

Civil activists are protesting against the adoption of the amnesty bill in front of the parliament building, including those who were injured on the night of June 20. Photo: RFE/RL.

Agenda.ge, 07 Sep 2021 - 19:53, Tbilisi,Georgia

Civil activists are protesting the adoption of an amnesty bill by the Georgian parliament stipulated by the April 19 EU-mediated agreement for the June 2019 protests that were sparked by the presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament. 

Georgian parliament adopted the bill earlier today with 79 votes in favour and 15 votes against it. 

Due to the stipulation about amnesty in the agreement, the largest opposition United National Movement (UNM) party back in April refused to sign the EU-mediated agreement which resolved the political crisis in the country caused by the parliamentary elections 2020.

However, UNM decided to join the agreement on September 2 regardless of the stipulation about amnesty in the document after the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party withdrew from it in late July ‘due to the main opposition party's refusal to join the agreement.'

The protestors in front of the parliament building wanted to make inscriptions on the carriageway but police seized their paint, Radio Liberty Georgian service reports.  Photo: RFE/RL.

Russian MP Sergey Gavrilov from the occupant country Russia took the seat of the Georgian parliament speaker during a religious conference on June 20 which provoked the protests in Tbilisi. 

A total of 19 individuals have been charged with group violence during the June rally, including the head of UNM Nika Melia who was arrested in June 2019 and released on bail for 30,000 GEL.