The Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, has called on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to immediately respond to the attacks on the TV Pirveli crew and citizens that occurred on December 7.
News
"I, like all citizens who saw this footage, am shocked by what we witnessed. It is unimaginable that people dressed in black are running amok and attacking people on the streets of Tbilisi. Once again, I urgently call on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the leadership of the Patrol Police to stop what we are seeing on the streets and hold accountable all those who committed these crimes.
The country will end up in a civil war if this is not stopped. What more can we expect when people dressed in informal clothes attack journalists and citizens, and we do not see an appropriate response to this?
Of course, the state is responsible for the health and safety of its citizens. The police units that were present are responsible for what happened. There is no need to question this, and once again, I call on everyone to immediately stop what we are seeing and the footage being circulated. This is unheard of.
If people confront each other on the street, it will escalate, and it will only lead to a civil conflict, a civil war, which this country has already experienced once. So, in my opinion, we are on a very dangerous edge, and the rampage of these informal groups - whoever they are, people dressed in black - must be stopped, and everyone must be held accountable," said Levan Ioseliani.
On December 7, a camera crew from TV company Pirveli was attacked live on air on Besiki Street in Tbilisi. Masked individuals physically assaulted journalist Maka Chikhladze and cameraman Giorgi Shetsiruli. Both were taken to the Ingorokva Clinic.
The attack occurred while the TV Pirveli camera crew was covering the beating of citizens by masked individuals live on air.
Allegedly, the same group later broke into the Coalition for Change office, where they beat Koba Khabazi and at least two other people.
