Nine activists detained during demolition of tents at parliament building in Tbilisi

In Tbilisi, in Rustaveli Avenue, in front of the parliament building, protesters' tents have been dismantled. It caused an activists' wave of protests; nine of them were detained in clashes with policemen.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that protests began in Tbilisi on November 14, after the failure of the parliamentary vote for the bill that envisaged changing the country's electoral system.

Late in the evening on December 30, several protesters' tents set up in front of the parliament in Tbilisi were dismantled, including the tent of the father of Malkhaz Machalikashvili, who was shot dead during a special operation in Pankisi.

After midnight, they brought children's attraction facilities to the parliament building and began installing them in the square in place of the tents. These actions provoked a protest from the activists who stayed in the place.

Elene Khoshtariya, an MP from the oppositional "European Georgia" Party, tried to bring a large, dense plastic bag to the place where the tents had been previously installed, but the police did not let her through, which led to clashes of policemen with the protesters. Nine people were detained.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 31, 2019 at 05:30 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.