Rally in Mestia: Locals Demanding Release of Those Accused of Beating GD Member

The central road in Svaneti, at the entrance of Mestia, is being blocked and police are mobilized as protesters demand the release of four people accused of beating a member of the Georgian Dream, Temur Shubitidze, from pre-trial detention before the elections. They threaten that if he is not released, they will not open the road and there won't be an election in Mestia.

Due to the blockading of the road, the locals are not able to move freely.

Protesters say all four detainees are civil activists and they are fighting against the construction of hydropower plants.

“We’ve blocked the road and are demanding the ultimate release of the detained persons, who are members of the Youth Movement of Svaneti. For years, we have been protesting the implementation of many unlawful projects in the Svaneti region. As it seems, it was in certain people’s interests to arrest them. We particularly demand the release of world boxing champion Lasha Gurguliani, who is not allowed to continue his activities due to detention, and also call on other people to join our protest,” one of the protesters ctold media.

Demonstrators claim that those detained are victims of selective law.

On October 7, the Ministry of Internal Affairs detained 4 people in Tbilisi on charges of beating Temur Shubitidze, a member of the Georgian Dream.

“The investigation established that Temur Shubitidze, born in 1991, a member of the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party, an adviser to the Marneuli Sakrebulo chairman, was driving his car on the Zemo Ponichala-Marneuli highway on September 30 this year, when attackers physically assaulted him and fled the scene,” stated the MIA.

Shubitidze was physically assaulted on the Tbilisi-Marneuli road on September 30. This was preceded by the facts of physical confrontation on September 29 in Marneuli.  As reported by the United National Movement, their supporter Lasha Kveladze and the people sitting in his car were physically assaulted. Also, journalists and cameramen were beaten the same evening.

By Ana Dumbadze 

Image: TV Pirveli/Shot from the video