Interior ministry to pay GEL 35k to victim of June 20 Tbilisi protest

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:

1. Protests erupt in Tbilisi after Russian Duma MP takes tribune of Georgian parliament's speaker in capital
2. 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.