Levan Jikuri, Accused of Violence on June 20, Released on Bail

Levan Jikuri, one of the detainees in connection with the June 20 case, has been released on bail of GEL 2,000.

The decision was announced by Judge Alexandre Iashvili at today's court session. 

Levan Jikuri partly pleaded guilty, in particular, he said that he was at the rally and was using a shield, though he denied involvement in group violence.

The motion filed by his lawyer Aleksandre Zubiashvili was satisfied by the prosecution, considering that the accused had pleaded guilty, in addition, he had some health problems.

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, while 305 protesters were arrested for participating in group violence. The majority of them have already been released from custody. 

By Ana Dumbadze 

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