Demonstrator injured in June 2019 Tbilisi protests granted victim status
A total of 275 people were injured out of which 32 were journalists and 80 - police officers while 19 individuals were charged with group violence during a clash on Rustaveli Avenue on June 20 including the head of opposition United National Movement party Nika Melia who was arrested in June 2019 and released on bail for 30,000 GEL. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Protester Vakhtang Berikashvili who was injured during the dispersal of a rally during the June 2019 protests which were sparked by the presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament has been granted victim status on December 9 after more than two years since the incident took place, the Human Rights Center (HRC) reports.
The HRC, which has been representing the legal interests of Berikashvili since 2019, states that Berikashvili received ‘significant health injuries’ as a result of the rally dispersal, noting that ‘in addition to the wounds, he experienced strong emotional stress.’
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) accepted a fourth complaint named Berikashvili vs Georgia in the case of June 2019 Tbilisi protests from the NGO on September 14 this year.
The HRC demanded that the victims of June 20-21 [protests] be granted the status of a victim immediately. The organisation used all available legal means at the national level to conduct a timely, effective and impartial investigation by the General Prosecutor's Office of Georgia,” the NGO reports.
The organisation is protecting the rights of three journalists in this case and they were granted the victim’s status after the ECHR registered their cases in 2020.
Russian MP Sergey Gavrilov from the occupant country Russia took the seat of the Georgian parliament speaker during a religious conference on June 20, 2019, which provoked the protests in Tbilisi.
A total of 275 people were injured out of which 32 were journalists and 80 - police officers while 19 individuals were charged with group violence during a clash on Rustaveli Avenue on June 20 including the head of opposition United National Movement party Nika Melia who was arrested in June 2019 and released on bail for 30,000 GEL.
The Georgian parliament adopted an amnesty bill for the June 2019 protesters on September 7 with 79 votes in favour and 15 votes against the bill.