News - Georgia interior ministry announces arrest of 11 participants of demonstration against ‘law on foreign agents’

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia announced the arrest of 11 participants of the demonstration against the "law on foreign agents." They were detained administratively, SOVA reports. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia confirms that the police used pepper spray on citizens, repeating that "every illegal action will be followed by a legal response by law enforcement agencies." "During the rally held on Rustaveli Avenue and near the [Georgian] parliament building [in the capital, Tbilisi], despite the numerous appeals by the Ministry of Internal Affairs officers to the organizers and participants of the rally to protest in the ways prescribed by the law and not to take violent actions, the demonstrators physically resisted the police; they threw various blunt objects, including stones and bottles. As a result of this illegal action, an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was injured and transferred to the Caucasus Medical Center. A car belonging to the ministry was also damaged. The Ministry of Internal Affairs used special measures, the so-called pepper spray, to prevent physical confrontation. The law enforcement officers detained 11 people for violating the law. We once again call on the organizers and participants of the action to ensure the expression of protest within the framework provided by the law. Each illegal action will be followed by the appropriate legal response of law enforcement agencies," stressed the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia.