“On the night of May 8, the authorities’ nerves finally gave way, and they prematurely began to show what kind of country they were going to make Georgia,” the non-governmental organizations’ representatives stated at a joint briefing.

As NGO representatives put it, the methods of the Russian security service will not hinder their fight for the country’s European future.

“The change of foreign vector and repressions announced by Bidzina Ivanishvili on April 29 has already been visibly implemented. Calls of threats and insults made to hundreds of citizens turned into physical attacks and organized reprisals against politicians and activists.

The oligarch and his puppets forget that Georgia is not Russia. Georgians know the price of freedom. The methods of the Russian security service cannot diminish our struggle for the country’s European future.

Georgians will never approve of attacking a person from the back, chasing them in the hallways, trying to break the door of young children. This is how the Russian regime behaves.

We will provide legal assistance to all victims. We will definitely follow every case of a targeted attack on activists and rallies held in previous weeks and now. We will demand and ensure that the culprits are identified.

Freedom is the main value of the Georgian people. Therefore, we stand and will stand on the guard of the European future of Georgia, to protect this country from Russian methods and violence. The Georgian people will prevail in this battle, and the perpetrators will surely get an appropriate response,” the joint statement reads.