On June 2, the police dispersed a peaceful demonstration in front of Tbilisi’s parliament building, including human rights defenders and representatives of civil society organizations, at least seven people were detained. Those gathered were criticizing Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s recent anti-democratic and pro-Russian statements, while showing support for Beka Grigoriadis, the father of Lazare Grigoriadis, who has been held in pretrial custody since the large-scale demonstrations against the draft foreign agents law in March 2023. Following these incidents, six other people, including two minors, were detained on June 3, in Batumi’s Era Square during a rally intended to express solidarity with the activists who had been illegally and arbitrarily detained on June 2. While those arrested were released after serving the maximum term of 48 hours for pre-trial confinement, these events reveal a troubling trend of limitations to freedom of expression and the unlawful arrests of human rights activists who participate in public demonstrations.

Read the full article by CSO Meter here.