Clean up work after a riot Saturday night and Sunday morning in Batumi. (Interpressnews.)
Those responsible will be strictly punished, Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili warned. (Interpressnews.)
TBILISI, DFWatch–Most who were detained in a riot in Batumi, Georgia have now been released, but the interior minister warned that they will be strictly punished.
Seven people are still incarcerated after a court placed them in preliminary administrative detention, Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Mghebrishvili told the Public Broadcaster’s Channel 1 on Monday.
According to the ministry, 40 people were detained altogether. The country’s public defender put the figure higher, at 65 and said three people said they had been subjected to excessive use of force when they were being detained.
Those who were released will still be subject to administrative proceedings and face trial, Mghebrishvili added.
He repeated a warning from yesterday that anyone deemed to have been involved in the rioting will be strictly punishment.
The mass unrest last Sunday morning landed 33 people in hospital, including 15 policemen. The newly refurbished center of Batumi was left in a mess, with burned out cars and debris.
“I repeat once again, every person who was involved [in the riot] will be harshly punished. Now the process to identify them is underway,” Mgebrishvili warned.
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