Georgian interior ministry charges arrested demonstrators

The Georgian Interior Ministry brought charges against those who took part in an illegal rally of the People’s Assembly in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi last night and were arrested during the SWAT operations, Ministry's Analytical Department Head Shota Utiashvili said at a briefing today.

"The ministry decided on administrative arrest for 2 months against most of the arrested and filed a criminal case against several," he said.

Lawyers of the arrested said those, who plead guilty in participating in an unsanctioned meeting, at trial will be punished in the administrative manner by paying a fine of 400 lari. Those who did not plead guilty will be subjected to 2-months imprisonment before trial.
Utiashvili said no organizers arrested during the SWAT operations.

The Ministry has evidence that some of the rally organizers considered the possibility of developments in the form of civil strife, Utiashvili said. The ministry has already spread some of these materials, in particular recording of a telephone conversation of Ex-Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze and her son.


/Trend/