| Submit your comments on this article |
| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Georgia Releases 3 Activists |
| 2009-05-08 |
| TBILISI, Georgia — Georgia released three opposition activists on Thursday whose detention had set off violence in Tbilisi, as diplomats and the country’s top religious figure stepped in to urge calm. It was not clear whether the prisoners’ release would diffuse the tension in the capital, which was jolted on Wednesday night when protesters tried to break into a detention center to free the three. The police beat the protesters back with clubs, and the ensuing fray left 30 people injured. About 3,000 people gathered in front of Georgia’s Parliament on Thursday to condemn the actions of the police, but there were no further confrontations. An opposition leader, Irakli Alasania, asked President Mikheil Saakashvili to meet with him and other representatives, saying the country “was getting closer to civil confrontation.” “Meeting with Saakashvili could help to overcome the political crisis,” said Mr. Alasania, leader of the Alliance for Georgia party. “It is the only way out.” European diplomats criticized the attempt to storm the detention center and warned against further violence. Peter Semneby, the European Union’s special representative for the South Caucasus, said, “Any action of this kind is fundamentally very dangerous in a tense situation.” But he said he was encouraged by signs that dialogue could resume between the sides. “There are strong signs today that Georgia is pulling back from a situation that could have easily become very dangerous,” he said. Opponents of Mr. Saakashvili have been leading regular protests since early April, demanding his resignation. Lately, the crowds have dwindled to a hard core, including picketers who have created a “corridor of shame” outside the headquarters of Georgia’s public broadcaster, accusing journalists of pro-government bias. As protesters tried forcibly to free the three prisoners, the patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II, issued a statement early Thursday urging the government to release them. Mr. Utiashvili said the young men were freed pending trials “because the patriarch appealed to police” and in hopes of “calming the situation on the street.” At a news conference after their release, the three accused the police of having beaten them. Revaz Revazishvili, 15, displayed fresh bruises and scratches on his chest and said he had agreed to sign a confession because the police had threatened to rape or kill him. Mr. Utiashvili said the prisoners were not mistreated or threatened. He said that if they showed injuries, it was “understandable, because they were brought to the police station after a fight.” |
| Posted by:Steve White |