Over the past few days, a number of false accusations have been made by representatives of NGOs and members of various political groups, regarding the generation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in order to discredit law enforcement officers.
The public sees that when the protest is taking place within a peaceful assembly and there is no violence, the police will take all necessary measures to give the protest participants a chance to express themselves freely.
However, the public has seen several cases when the protest on Rustaveli Avenue, near the Parliament Building exceeded the rules set by the law of assembly and manifestation and became violent.
It is a remarkable circumstance that the goal of some of the people attending the demonstration was to commit violent acts from the beginning. This is evidenced by the circumstances that when they arrived at the meeting, they had illegal items with them – stones, iron structures, pyrotechnics and more. Also, as a result of investigations, various illegal items intended for protesters that were actively used to attack police officers have been removed from the offices of the organizers of the protests.
During the EU protests, after the gathering became a mass disruption of the peace, the Ministry of Interior has been taking consistent measures granted by law to de-escalate the situation.
It is emphasized that, prior to the use of special means, the participants of the meeting were constantly warned, both through official statements and on the spot, with special voice means.
Information about injured protesters is being spread in various media outlets and social networks. The public could see that police were arresting violent people, who often opposed law enforcement.
In most cases, violent people resisted the police at the moment of arrest, when they inflict physical harm to both the detainees and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia.
It is to remind society that as a result of these violent acts, 171 employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were injured. Part of the injured suffered various serious injuries, namely: About 10 policemen required difficult surgical interventions and about 40 law enforcers suffered serious injuries to their faces, heads and eyes as a result of stones thrown by protesters. Also, about 60 employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs suffered multiple burns to the face, limbs and body as a result of pyrotechnics, and one employee, due to injury caused by pyrotechnics, had significantly impaired hearing.
Concerning the alleged police force, as mentioned several times, the Special Investigation Service is investigating and the Ministry of Internal Affairs is actively cooperating with the investigative agency within its jurisdiction.
It is also reminded to society that since November 28, several criminal acts have been recorded in parallel with the violent actions taking place on Rustaveli Avenue and its surroundings. Among them, robbery attacks, up to 60 burglaries, various types of inventory, cash, clothing and various items were stolen. From various objects on Rustaveli Avenue, facts of the seizure of various inventory, including ATMs and deposit machines, and then their use as barricades were recorded.
Dozens of incidents of theft of personal items have been recorded. The outer facade of various buildings on Rustaveli Avenue is broken and damaged. The damage caused to private persons and the state by criminal means exceeds hundreds of thousands of GEL.
In recent days, in various media outlets and social networks, information about the confiscation of personal belongings of detainees and disappearance in uncertain circumstances has been circulating.
The Internal Affairs Ministry responds to the information disseminated and notifies the public that according to Article 26 of the Law, Article 2 and Article 249 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the police, as provided by law, have the right to temporarily detain or restrict the person’s actual possession of the property.
Personal items that were confiscated based on the above-mentioned standards were returned to persons detained in temporary detention isolation as soon as they were released by law.
The rumor that the Interior Ministry employees illegally confiscated the personal belongings of detainees is false and serves only to discredit the authorities and law enforcement.
