Public Defender: Detained opposition Droa party leader refuses to meet with representative of his office

Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani on Sunday said the leader of the Droa opposition party, Elene Khoshtaria, who had been detained for administrative offences on Saturday, refused to meet with the representative of the Public Defender’s office.

Khoshtaria was detained during a protest outside Kvareli Lake Resort in Georgia's east, which followed the information spread on Friday alleging that the sanctioned daughter of Russian official Lavrov and her husband were staying in Kvareli Lake Resort and the hotel would be hosting the wedding party of Lavrov’s family members.

• Police arrest 16 for administrative offences during protest in Georgia's east

Along with the Droa leader, Georgian police arrested 16 individuals at the rally yesterday, which saw physical confrontations between law enforcement and protesters.

In her social media post, Khoshtaria said she would not attend the court hearing, stressing she and her lawyers would not cooperate with “the slavish court”. 

The Public Defender said the representatives of his office were involved in the process and visited the detainees. "We are doing everything within the law to protect the rights of the detained individuals”, Ioseliani stressed.