Police in Tbilisi have detained who they said was a 16 year-old armed with a gun during a confrontation with protesters. Demonstrators were able to disarm him on the spot and hand over the weapon to the police.
The incident occurred while protesters were holding their traditional march from the former headquarters of the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) to parliament on Rustaveli Avenue.
According to march participant Gota Chanturia, the confrontation was preceded by the insults directed to the march by a group of about eight people.
‘In response to our [protest] chants, they shouted insulting phrases, made gestures, verbally insulted us, and acted provocatively’, Chanturia told Formula.
‘They also approached the police and asked if they were allowed to do this, to which [the police] replied that they could do whatever they wanted’, he added.
He further noted that this ultimately led to a confrontation between some of the protesters and the group. According to Chanturia, ‘this was a planned provocation’.
Another protester, Levan Jobava, said that some protesters, including himself, followed one of the group members into a nearby cafe. The demonstrator said that it was at that moment the individual ‘pulled out a weapon, first pointing it at me, then aimed it at the other side’.
‘That’s when we overpowered him and took [the weapon] away’, Jobava told Formula, adding that the weapon visually resembled a Makarov pistol.
‘We took him and the weapon outside and handed them over to the police, after which [the officers] brought me inside. For about an hour, I was not allowed to go outside’, Jobava noted, adding that for a certain period he also had no access to his lawyer.
In footage captured toward the end of the incident, a person can be seen lying on the ground with their hands tied above their head, surrounded by police and protesters.
‘He pulled out a weapon, that motherfucker!’ one of the protesters shouted.
The Interior Ministry’s version of the events differed from Jobava’s account. According to its statement, one individual ‘displayed a weapon’ while still on the street, prompting ‘two protesters to chase him’.
‘The individual then entered a café near Besiki Street, where activists restrained him and took the weapon’, the ministry said.
The police further stated that the detained person was born in 2009 and is charged under the article for illegal acquisition, storage, and carrying of a firearm, which carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison.
However, the statement noted that the weapon, ‘upon initial inspection, is likely an air gun’.
Later, activists shared data on social media from the unified voter registry, which, according to them, belongs to the detained individual and indicates that he is not 16 but 21 years old.
Daily protests have been taking place in Tbilisi since 28 November 2024, following the ruling Georgian Dream party’s announcement of a suspension of the country’s EU membership bid.
The first phase of the protests was marked both by police violence and attacks on protesters and journalists by unidentified masked individuals.
Later, the wave of violence somewhat subsided, though confrontations continue to occur periodically.
In mid-August police detained two anti-government protesters, accusing them of ‘group violence’ against a ruling party supporter, who, according to activists, staged a provocation during a protest. Both detainees face up to two years in prison if found guilty.
Incidents are occurring not only at protest sites but also elsewhere, including outside the homes of government critics. In May, three anti-government protesters were pepper sprayed and pelted with dye by an unidentified man inside a residential building.
Government critics have repeatedly linked the attacks to the ruling party, which has not confirmed its involvement.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
