Tbilisi City Court judge Lela Tsagareishvili fined the American lawyer, Ted Jonas, 2000 GEL after he was beaten by the police during the protest against the Russian Law. The Ministry of Internal Affairs charged Jonas with petty hooliganism and disobeying the lawful request of a police officer. The judge found him guilty on both counts.
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"An obvious display that the Georgian courts don’t act on the evidence and don’t hold the police accountable for perjury (not to mention unlawful violence, but we already knew that," Ted Jonas said of the judge's decision, which he plans to appeal.
The American lawyer stated that he proved in court that the police officers' testimony about his disobedience and the circumstances of his arrest was false. Additionally, Ted Jona claimed that the police officers brought as witnesses were not present at the scene of his arrest and had falsified the arrest protocol. Considering these circumstances, Jonas had hoped that the judge would dismiss one of the charges, as had happened in the case of Davit Katsarava.
“But no - she proved her loyalty to the regime and convicted me on both charges. But the same 2000 GEL fine. Btw - Calling police “Russians” is now officially the administrative offense of “petty hooliganism” - it is considered an insult like cursing them - if you take the precedents of my and Katsarava’s cases,” Ted Jonas wrote on the social networking site Facebook.
The lawyer claimed in court that his actions - a political speech about the government - are protected by the constitution. He argued that the police's actions provoked thousands of people, including him, to call them "Russians," "slaves," and "traitors." "Should you send them air kisses after being attacked with water cannons, tear gas, pepper spray, batons, and shields?" Ted Jonas wrote.
The lawyer claimed in court that his actions - a political speech about the government - are protected by the constitution. He argued that the police's actions provoked thousands of people, including him, to call them "Russians," "slaves," and "traitors." "As if you are supposed to blow them kisses right after they have assaulted everybody with water cannons, tear gas bombs, pepper spray, clubs and shields?" Ted Jonas wrote.
61-year-old Ted Jonas, a dual citizen of Georgia and the United States, was arrested on May 1 at a rally against the Russian Law on so-called Foreign Agents. He stated that the police abused him both verbally and physically.
The court also fined Davit Katsarava, who was illegally detained and severely beaten by MIA employees at the rally, 2000 GEL. The leader of the Anti-Occupation Movement was charged with petty hooliganism and verbal abuse of a police officer. However, Judge Koba Chagunava stopped the proceedings due to the lack of evidence for the petty hooliganism charge. According to the judge, Katsarava insulted the special forces representatives by calling them representatives of the Russian government.
