Georgian activists demand to release protesters supporting "Rustavi 2" TV Channel

In Tbilisi, more than 200 people held a rally in front of the house of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former Prime Minister of Georgia. They were protesting against the court's decision to arrest two activists of the NGO "Free Zone" and a member of the "United National Movement" Party.

On October 2, in front of the Georgian Parliament, activists held a protest action, organized by members of the NGO "Free Zone" and the "United National Movement" Party. Participants of the protest action demanded to stop pressure on the "Rustavi 2" TV Channel. During the action, the protesters threw a loudspeaker at Dato Lortkipanidze, an MP from the "Georgian Dream", and tore his jacket. On October 3, Nika Narsiya and Mirian Deisadze, members of the NGO "Free Zone", and Kakha Gabuniya, one of the leaders of the Kutaisi organization of the "United National Movement" Party, were detained. The activists declared a hunger strike in prison.

Giorgy Oniani, a defender of the detainees, has pointed out to the fact that the prosecutors have no evidence that Narsiya, Deisadze, and Gabuniya are the very people, who caused damage to the MP.

"The arrest of three young people is a dramatic turn of events, which tells us how far back Georgia has rolled under informal control of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili," says Sergo Ratiani, an MP from the "United National Movement" Party.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.