GYLA: 67 Law enforcers, 4 Protesters Recognized as Victims of June 20-21 Events

The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA), based on information received from the General Prosecutor’s Office, reports that more law enforcement officers have been recognized as victims of the June 20-21 events than protesters.

The Association reports that they applied to the Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia to clarify information about the criminal cases in connection with the June 20-21 events.

“According to the information received: the Ministry of Internal Affairs is investigating two cases in which 17 protesters were indicted, while 67 law enforcers were identified as victims; as part of the ongoing investigation, the Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia charged 3 employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, while 4 protesters were identified as victims.

"The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association continues to study the events of June 20-21 and will present a legal evaluation of the case in the near future,” reads the information released by the GYLA.

Protests on Rustaveli Avenue started on June 20 in reaction to the visit of three Russian MPs to Georgia within the framework of a session of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy held at the Parliament building, mostly due to the fact that Russian MP Sergei Gavrilov sat in the Parliamentary Speaker’s chair, speaking in Russian, which many Georgians saw as an unwelcome reminder of the Russian occupation of the country's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia). 

The protest turned into clashes with police after protesters tried to enter the parliament building. 

The so-called Gavrilov Night protest was dispersed by riot police with the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon. 240 individuals, including 32 journalists and 80 law enforcers, were injured during a clash on Rustaveli Avenue on June 20-21. 

By Ana Dumbadze 

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