Georgian President demands that the crackdown of peaceful protests ends

Georgia's President, Salomé Zourabichvili demanded that the crackdown on protests against the "Foreign Agents" bill end, Georgia’s Internal Ministry reported.

The bill is also known as the "Russian bill" as it is modeled after Russia's 'Foreign Agents' bill that allowed the Russian government to crack down on Russian civil society.

Zourabichvili pressed the Georgian government "to immediately stop the crackdown of peaceful demonstrations, the use of excessive force, and the violence against the unarmed youth" in her address to Internal Minister.

The demonstrations do not pose a threat to public order, she said.

Zourabichvili also appealed to Georgia’s Public Defender (Ombudsman), Levan Ioseliani, to "immediately intervene to stop any unjustified and excessive actions of special forces."

"It is a shame to oppose the youth when you speak on behalf of the people,” the President said.

“It is a shame to use religion to justify violence during Holy Week." (Georgia, like Ukraine, celebrates Easter on May 5 in 2024)

Zourabichvili holds the government accountable for all that is happening regarding the protests.

"Absolutely groundless, unprovoked, and disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters in Tbilisi,” she wrote on X.

Read also: ‘Will never be tolerated’ – Georgians will not allow a pro-Russian government – Georgian President

“Full responsibility lies entirely with the government. Georgian people are deprived of the right to a peaceful protest."

The protest on Rustaveli Avenue near the Parliament building in Tbilisi "went beyond the limits established by the law on freedom of speech and peaceful demonstrations and became violent”, Georgia's Internal Ministry claimed.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine