Publika’s photojournalist Natia Leverashvili reports physical assault by police at parliament protest

Media outlet Publika’s photojournalist Natia Leverashvili states that police physically assaulted her during a protest at the Parliament.

According to Leverashvili, police forcibly removed her from a ramp.

“I followed the demonstrators towards April 9 Street,” Leverashvili recounted. “Initially, the police instructed us to move onto the sidewalks, and everyone complied, relocating to the side. However, the authorities then decided to push against us, resulting in a violent crush that formed.

I found myself caught in this crush, trying to escape. As I turned around, I saw people lying on the ground. It was then that I witnessed the detention of one individual, which prompted me to move forward and resume taking photos.

The crush had become too intense for me, and I scaled a fence to get a better vantage point to capture the events unfolding below. But personnel from the Ministry of Internal Affairs – not the patrol police – grabbed my hair and pulled me down from the top of the ramp. I said: ‘Why are you hitting me,’ I clung on, and they pushed me again. When I looked back, my colleagues were already there. They helped me get away from the area,” Leverashvili stated.

Additionally, according to News.On.ge, police attacked the outlet’s editor-in-chief, Vatsent Khabeishvili, who is now in the clinic for urgent examinations.