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| Batumi residents demand an end to the oppression of Muslims in Adigeni |
| 2024-03-11 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [KavkazUzel] Authorities must investigate and stop attacks on Muslims in the Georgian village of Adigeni, protesters near the central mosque of Batumi said. As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, on March 8, dozens of residents of the village of Adigeni in southern Georgia held a protest to prevent their fellow Muslim villagers from holding Friday prayers. There is no mosque in the village, and Muslims gather for prayer on Fridays in the house of Yusuf Mikeladze, where there is a spiritual center. The former mufti of Georgia demanded that the country's authorities investigate the incident. Residents of Batumi today held an action of solidarity with Muslims from the village of Adigeni near the central mosque of the city. The protesters said that it is unacceptable to divide people on ethnic and religious grounds, and called on the state to protect freedom of religion, equality and social peace, the Adjara TV channel reported, which was watched by a Caucasian Knot correspondent. “Unfortunately, the right to conduct prayers freely is being violated. Based on this, the protesters demand that the authorities urgently take measures to prevent this from happening again,” protest participant Mindia Atadze said in a TV report. “This was a provocation [in Adigeni], and I believe that the relevant departments will investigate this and the situation will be resolved,” another protester Vitaly Nodadze told the channel’s journalists. Let us recall that in May 2017, the Batumi mayor’s office did not allow the local Muslim community to begin construction of a mosque. The refusal was motivated by the fact that the plot purchased for construction is located in an area of dense residential development. Instead of a mosque, a prayer house was opened on the site. The situation escalated into years of litigation. Muslims in Georgia are discriminated against in schools, do not receive higher education, and cannot get a job. In addition, they themselves refuse to participate in political and social life, said the authors of a 2018 study. In 2014, residents of Kobuleti hung a pig’s head on the building in which a Turkish citizen planned to open a madrasah. After this, the Muslim community filed a complaint of discrimination with the Batumi City Court. In July 2015, rallies were held in the city against the activities of a Muslim boarding house. In September 2016, three Georgians were found guilty of discrimination against Muslims. Participants in protests against the operation of a Muslim boarding house received fines. In 2019, a complaint was filed against Georgia in connection with the harassment of Muslims. The Georgian authorities did not protect the rights of religious minorities and did not help ensure the opening of a boarding house for Muslim students in Kobuleti, according to a complaint sent to the European Court of Human Rights. The ECHR ruled that the Georgian authorities failed to take adequate action to prevent religious discrimination and violence against the founders of the madrassa in Kobuleti, and awarded compensation to the applicants. However, he refused to recognize the pig's head incident as degrading treatment. Related: Batumi: 2024-02-21 US and British ambassadors paid tribute to Navalny at a spontaneous memorial in Baku Batumi: 2024-02-20 Police reported on preventive conversations with participants in the protest in memory of Navalny Batumi: 2024-02-18 Residents of Stavropol complained about mass arrests while laying flowers in memory of Navalny |
| Posted by:badanov |