Georgia: The employees of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested 8 individuals on charges of attempting to block a strategic or particularly important facility as part of a protest on Sunday in the capital city of Tbilisi.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, announced the public about the arrest through its official Facebook page on February 4, 2025, Tuesday.
According to the Ministry’s announcement, it should be noted that MIA officials arrested 8 people on charges of attempting to block the special highway road. it should also be noted that the crime carries a penalty of up to four years in prison.
According to the investigation carried out by the Ministry, it is reported that a protest took place on Agmashenebeli Avenue, which is part of the Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze highway, an internationally classified road.
The Ministry also noted that despite multiple warnings, the participants of the protest tried to block the international road of international importance, illegally in groups, leading to their arrest.
It is noteworthy that, according to the Georgian government’s Resolution No. 361 of October 23, 2024, on the “Approval of the List of Strategic and/or Particularly Important Facilities,” international highways are considered strategic and/or particularly important facilities.
Additionally, according to Resolution No. 407 issued by the Georgian government on June 18, 2014, the Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze Highway is included in the list of internationally significant roads, and the Aghmashenebeli Highway is fully part of this section.
As it is publicly known, on February 2, during the second half of the day, protest participants began gathering and later marched towards the exit of Tbilisi. Employees of various units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were present at the gathering locations to ensure public safety and order. They maintained constant communication with the protest organizers and participants.
Despite warning statements by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and several calls from law enforcers on the scene that protesters should not block the international highway, shortly after the rally began, some of the protesters, did not obey the legal request of the police, went to the sidewalk and attempted to block the motorway to block the road.
According to the Ministry’s statement, it is noted that 8 persons have been arrested for an offense under Article 19-222 of the Criminal Code, which means an attempt to block a strategy or object of special importance.
The persons who were arrested were born in 1991, 1982, 2004, 1992, 1978, 1994, 1992, and 1975 respectively. Notably, a criminal investigation is going on to identify and bring others to justice who were involved in a roadblock.