Rondeli Foundation researcher sentenced to 4-day custody

Vato Bzhalava, a researcher of the analytic-research center Rondeli Foundation, detained at Irakli Abashidze Street on December 12, was sentenced to 4-day administrative custody, based on the decision of Judge Lela Tsagareishvili of the Tbilisi City Court.

Vato Bzhalava was charged with disobedience to the police. At the trial, the lawyer claimed that his defendant did not resist, instead presented his ID document to the police, adding the detainee was physically assaulted in a pre-detention cell. The lawyer assesses the 4-day imprisonment as an attempt to menace his defendant.

A representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) alleged that Vato Bzhalava was stopped for checking but he did not obey the lawful order of the police.