Protesters Arrested Outside Supreme Court
Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 5 Apr.'11 / 10:57

Police briefly scuffled with protesters outside the Supreme Court and arrested several people on April 4.

The rally was organized by various opposition groups, which are campaigning for inmates' rights, demanding a large-scale amnesty. Couple of hundred protesters marched towards the Supreme Court building on a small street running in parallel to the Rustaveli Avenue. Reports say that the police came into action shortly after some protesters tossed eggs at the Supreme Court building.

Ten people were arrested; the opposition Georgia Party and Our Georgia-Free Democrats said their activists were among detained protesters, as well as a member of the Tbilisi-based Abkhaz parliament in-exile Ada Marshania.

In an overnight hearing the Tbilisi City Court found them guilty of disobedience to police orders and petty hooliganism and sentenced three of them to 20 days in jail; one was sentenced to 25 days in jail and six others, including Ada Marshania, were fined with GEL 400 each and released from the courtroom.

A similar protesters rally with the same demands outside the ministry in charge of prison system also grew into a scuffle with police on March 25, when protesters tried to block a traffic on Kazbegi Avenue. Seven protesters were arrested; two of them were jailed for 20 days and one for 10 days; four others were fined and released from courtroom; the court found all of them guilty of disobeying police orders.

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