Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani stated that police began detaining protesters on Melikishvili Avenue while the demonstration was ongoing peacefully and under the standards of the right to assembly.

According to Ioseliani, representatives from his office will visit the protesters who were injured last night and are currently receiving treatment at local clinics. The Ombudsman commented that “the police may have mistreated the protesters and used excessive force.”

Levan Ioseliani also addressed the detention of journalist Sergi Baramidze while performing his professional duties, emphasizing that “obstructing the professional activities of journalists is unacceptable.”

“The Public Defender calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to uphold the freedom of peaceful assembly, to refrain from interrupting journalists in the course of their work, and to act in line with emergency and proportionality criteria during detentions and when using special measures,” the statement from Georgia’s Public Defender reads.

The Public Defender’s Office has encouraged citizens to report any instances of human rights violations by calling the hotline 1481.