Fence at President’s Palace was pre-cut during anti-government protests, lawyer

Lawyer Irakli Abesadze has claimed that a fence at the Presidential Palace had been cut in advance during October anti-government protests, alleging that authorities had sought to provoke mass entry into the courtyard to later arrest individuals, including opposition leaders for alleged sabotage and damage of strategic facilities. 

Abesadze claimed it could be “confirmed” that the fence was pre-cut, as the expert examination did not include any assessment that would rule out this possibility.

He also referred to a recent statement indicating that, during the inspection of the scene, the fence section was not removed on the prosecutor’s instructions, allegedly because of its large size. 

Abesadze argued that removing the section would not have been impossible and suggested that the prosecution had no interest in preserving the opportunity for an objective examination to determine whether the fence had been damaged beforehand.

“The aim of the state and the provocation was for people to enter the courtyard of the Presidential Palace en masse, which did not happen. There was no such objective, and only isolated incidents took place,” Abesadze said.