Opposition leader Elene Khoshtaria fined 5,000 GEL for police disobedience

Tbilisi City Court has found Elene Khoshtaria, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, guilty of an administrative offense and fined her 5,000 GEL.

The decision was announced by Judge Zviad Tskhovrebashvili.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs had initially requested Khoshtaria’s detention. She was charged under Articles 166 and 173 of Georgia’s Administrative Code, which refer to petty hooliganism and disobeying a lawful police order.

The opposition politician was detained on March 28 during a protest near the Parliament building. The demonstrators were opposing the work of the temporary investigative commission created by the ruling Georgian Dream party in the disputed Parliament.

The protest was sparked by questions raised during the commission’s session that included implications of blaming the Georgian side for decisions made during the 2008 Russia–Georgia August War. Citizens organized a spontaneous protest at the entrance of the Parliament building in parallel with the session.

Following her arrest, Elene Khoshtaria described in a letter from the detention center that after she refused to cooperate at the police station, officers Nino Chkhartishvili and Davit Bolotashvili tightly handcuffed her hands behind her back and caused injuries to her jaw and teeth. Additionally, at the temporary detention facility in Dighomi, she said a police-dispatched medical team handcuffed her hands behind her back again and fully strip-searched her.