13 June 2009, 18:00
In Georgia, five oppositionists convicted for hooliganism
In Georgia, the court has found the five oppositionists arrested on June 12 guilty of hooliganism against MPs and brought them to administrative responsibility.
Today, one of Tbilisi courts has sentenced Kakha Beintrishvili to 30 days of arrest, and David Patsatsiya, Kakha Giorganashvili and Mamuka Baliashvili - to 25 days of arrest each. Another supporter of the opposition - Nugzar Shengeliya - was sentenced to 30 days of arrest for insulting Levan Tarkhnishvili, chairman of the Central Electoral Commission, as reported by the "Moskovskiy Komsomolets" newspaper.
Meanwhile, the opposition asserts that young people were attacked by the securities of the parliament, and seven of them suffered. David Gamkrelidze, one of the leaders of the "Alliance for Georgia" and leader of the Party "New Right-Wingers", said at the briefing today that detentions of oppositional activists will still more aggravate the situation. Mr Gamkrelidze has called the authorities to stop persecutions and arrests of participants of protest actions.
Eric Fournier, ambassador of France in Tbilisi, has called Georgian political forces to refrain from provocations. "We call all political parties to refrain from violence and provocations. We hope that consultations between the President of Georgia and leaders of the opposition will continue," the "Interfax" quotes the French ambassador as saying.
