Police arrest one for assaulting law enforcement officers during opposition’s Tbilisi rally

The Georgian Interior Ministry on Thursday said law enforcement officers had arrested one individual for an assault on police officers during a public protest organised in the country’s capital Tbilisi by the domestic opposition against the results of the general elections held last month.

The Ministry said the offender had physically assaulted law enforcement officers mobilised to “maintain public order” on central Melikishvili Avenue during the protest with a stick, inflicting bodily harm.

The crime is punishable by up to seven years of imprisonment.

The law enforcement dispersed the rally early on Tuesday, citing “violations of assembly laws”, and removed demonstrators’ tents.

The protests gathered on Wednesday but “temporarily dispersed” later, with opposition leaders pledging a “recalibrated strategy” to “heighten pressure” on the Government for a rerun of the vote.