UPDATED: 19 arrested for disobeying police at protest against arrival of Russian-organised cruise in Batumi
Tweet 
Share
Updated: 16:10
The Georgian law enforcement on Monday arrested 19 demonstrators for disobeying police and petty hooliganism at a protest against the entry of a cruise ship in the country’s Black Sea city of Batumi that carried Russian citizens in a cruise organised by a Russian channel on the backdrop of Moscow’s ingoing aggression against Ukraine, the Public Defender's Office said.
One of the detainees is allegedly a citizen of Ukraine, the Ombudsman's Office added.
Earlier at 12:16
The Georgian law enforcement on Monday arrested nine demonstrators for disobeying police at a protest against the entry of a cruise ship in the country’s Black Sea city of Batumi that carried Russian citizens in a cruise organised by a Russian channel on the backdrop of Moscow’s ingoing aggression against Ukraine.
The Georgian Interior Ministry said those arrested had refused to comply with “lawful demands” of police officers, as figures from the domestic opposition, civil society groups and ordinary citizens protested the arrival on Thursday of the cruise trip organised by a Russian music channel.
Irakli Dgebuadze, the head of the Batumi division of the Interior Ministry, on Monday said the ship had been checked by the law enforcement similar to “all other cruise ships” upon its arrival, as part of mandatory procedures, in comments on media reports on the presence of the law enforcement on the specific ship.
The body further explained that law enforcement from the Patrol Police Department and the representatives of the Border Management and Coordination Main Division carried out mandatory inspection procedures on all incoming ships.
Guram Guramishvili, the Georgian Deputy Economy Minister, on Sunday said the cruise ship was sailing under the Palau flag and was not sanctioned for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
The Maritime Transport Agency of Georgia on Thursday said the cruise ship had arrived in Batumi port from Turkey.
Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Guram Guramishvili on Sunday said the cruise ship Astoria Grande, which had entered Georgia’s Batumi port on Thursday, had been sailing under the Palau flag and was not sanctioned, as part of the international sanctions imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, by “any country”.
Astoria Grande, a cruise ship that has entered Georgia’s Batumi port, has arrived in the harbour from Turkey and is free from the international sanctions imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the Maritime Transport Agency of the country said on Thursday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday told the ongoing Qatar Economic Forum in Doha his Government’s “clear” position that airline companies sanctioned for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would not operate in Georgia.
Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili on Monday said even though the country had not imposed sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the country’s authorities were “making sure” its territory would not be used for circumvention of the international sanctions for the war.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday said protests against the entry of a cruise ship in the country’s Black Sea city of Batumi that carried Russian citizens in a cruise organised by a Russian channel on the backdrop of Moscow’s ingoing aggression against Ukraine were a “deliberate provocation” and “harmful” to the domestic economy.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said citizens of the country “do not need a guardian”, in a comment that followed a remark by the United States Ambassador Kelly Degnan on protests in the Black Sea city of Batumi on Monday against the arrival of a cruise ship that carried Russian citizens and originated in Sochi.
Batumi City Court on Tuesday ruled to release 15 individuals from a group arrested for disobeying police at a protest against the arrival of a Russian-organised cruise in Georgia's Black Sea city of Batumi on Thursday.