MIA to Examine Mikheil Saakashvili’s Statement Regarding June 20

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has said it intends to study the statement of former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili regarding June 20. 

“The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia is investigating the events which developed in front of the Parliament on June 20-21, in accordance with Article 315, part 3, of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which pertains to revolt aimed at overthrowing the authorities.

Former President Mikheil Saakashvili made a statement yesterday on a media outlet, saying: “On June 20, 2019, Bidzina Ivanishvili was almost done. A little bit and this regime would have fallen. However, I think the moment was missed”.

The statement is enough ground for presuming that on June 20, 2019, with the direct involvement and leadership of Mikheil Saakashvili, there was an apparent attempt to overthrow the government. Appropriate investigative actions will be conducted in connection with this statement, after which, an appropriate legal assessment will be made,” reads the statement.

Saakashvili's statement refers to the notorious developments of June 20 in Georgia's capital Tbilisi, when protests started on Rustaveli Avenue 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 the 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

Related Story: Saakashvili: A Bit More and this Regime Would have Fallen