A Georgian opposition activist has been sentenced to 12 days of administrative detention following his arrest during protests against halted EU integration outside the country’s parliament late last month.
Gela Khasaia, a member of the opposition party Girchi – More Freedom, led by Zurab Japaridze, was handed the sentence by Tbilisi City Court on Wednesday. The ruling was delivered by Judge Davit Tetrauli, who was appointed to the bench in October last year after serving as an assistant judge for six years.
Khasaia was detained on 31 March near the parliament building in Tbilisi. According to footage from the scene, police approached him to conduct what they described as an “external search” of his bag. One officer was heard telling reporters: “We will have to take you to the Patrol Police Department. I can’t tell you anything more… We have reasonable suspicion.”
Khasaia told journalists he had agreed to the external examination of his bag but was trying to clarify the police’s demand when he was suddenly arrested.
While officers initially told the press he was being taken to a station for questioning, it was later revealed he had been formally arrested under Article 173 of Georgia’s Code of Administrative Offenses, which relates to disobedience of lawful police orders.
He was held in an isolation ward until 2 April, after which he was released. Speaking to reporters upon his release, Khasaia remarked that unlike in his previous arrests, he was not subjected to a full strip search.
