Journalists have been injured during the police raid at protest rally at Rustaveli Avenue early morning May 26. Law enforcers detained, beat, verbally insulted journalists and confiscated their photo and video cameras.
For example the police special forces members beat Netgazeti journalist Tamaz Kupreishvili.
Tamaz Kupreishvili: “Another journalist from Netgazeti Kote Stalinsky, one stranger and I were standing in front of the Student and Youth Palace beside the Parliament when the water cannons were shot at the protesters; this was followed by tear gas and rubber bullet. Rubber bullets were shot at our direction also. I was hit by one bullet. Kote and I ran towards the subway station Freedom (Tavisupleba). From that direction several officers of police special forces approached us. We started shouting: Press! Press! Despite that up to 15 masked persons surrounded us and started beating us with rubber clubs. I was telling the policemen I was a journalist and to stop beating me, but it did not work. They beat me on the head and legs. Finally one of the policemen dragged me out of there. I lost Kote Stalinsky in the process.
Journalists have been injured during the police raid at protest rally at Rustaveli Avenue early morning May 26. Law enforcers detained, beat, verbally insulted journalists and confiscated their photo and video cameras.
For example the police special forces members beat Netgazeti journalist Tamaz Kupreishvili.
Tamaz Kupreishvili: “Another journalist from Netgazeti Kote Stalinsky, one stranger and I were standing in front of the Student and Youth Palace beside the Parliament when the water cannons were shot at the protesters; this was followed by tear gas and rubber bullet. Rubber bullets were shot at our direction also. I was hit by one bullet. Kote and I ran towards the subway station Freedom (Tavisupleba). From that direction several officers of police special forces approached us. We started shouting: Press! Press! Despite that up to 15 masked persons surrounded us and started beating us with rubber clubs. I was telling the policemen I was a journalist and to stop beating me, but it did not work. They beat me on the head and legs. Finally one of the policemen dragged me out of there. I lost Kote Stalinsky in the process.
Correspondent of the Interpressnews news agency Malkhaz Chkadua was detained and taken to Digomi District Police Station. He was released some time later. As Malkhaz Chkadua states he and another journalists were being verbally insulted for up to one and a half hours. According to him there were a lot of other detained in the police station at that time.
Interpressnews reports Malkhaz Chkadua was detained by the police special forces at the Rustaveli Avenue during the raid at the protest rally. The policemen dropped the journalist down in the Tabukashvili Street and did not let him go. The journalist was wearing a press-representative vest, but the law enforcers did not release him and took him away to an unknown direction.
Another journalist of the given news agency Darejan Paatashvili was physically abused by the policemen. They confiscated her video camera. They also broke the video camera that the cameraman was holding.
Netgazeti journalist Nino Kakhniashvili was poisoned with the tear gas; she was taken to a hospital. After she received first aid she was checked out of the hospital.
Video camera was taken away from another journalist of Netgazeti Nestan Tsetskhladze.
Media.ge witnessed how the policemen physically abused and took away a photo camera from the Guria News journalist Nato Gogelia.
“I asked them to return the camera but they would not listen,” Nato Gogelia told Media.ge several minutes after the incident, nearby the National Library.
Media.ge correspondent who was reporting on the protest rally has also been beaten with rubber clubs and feet.
The incident took place nearby the Kashueti Church in the Jorjadze Street, when the Media.ge journalist was trying to take a phone of one of the fact of detainment.
“Why are you taking photos you mother…..,” one of the policemen shouted at the Media.ge correspondent. After the journalist showed them his Press ID, another policeman hit him with a rubber club on the head and in the back several time; the same policeman after hit the journalist with his leg.
Despite the given incident Media.ge correspondent managed to see how the policemen took away from Rustaveli Avenue a cameraman wearing a yellow raincoat, who was filming how the law enforcers were detaining and severely beating citizens (including women) in the Jorjadze street.
Earlier Media.ge correspondent witnessed by in front of the Rustaveli Movie Theatre the police special forces were confiscating photo camera memory cards from photo-journalists and also forced cameramen to give them tapes, or memory cards.
Source: Media.Ge