Thursday, August 21, 2025

Rioters will be strictly punished, Georgia's interior minister warns

Clean up work after Batumi riot
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.
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,

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Government and opposition trade accusations over Batumi riot

kvirikashvili-pataradze-ermapovi
From left to right: Batumi Mayor Giorgi Ermakov, PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili and head of the Adjara government Zurab Pataradze in Batumi on Sunday. (Interpressnews).
police_car_riot
(Batumelebi.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The government and the largest opposition party in Georgia are blaming each other for being behind a riot that shook the Black Sea resort city Batumi last night, injuring dozens and leaving the burgeoning tourist destination in disarray.

A special unit

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PM Kvirikashvili blames ‘destructive political forces' for Batumi riot

burning_car_batumi
Sporadic rioting continued into the night in Batumi, a port city on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. (Batumelebi.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–“A common incident has been utilized by destructive political forces to escalate the situation,” Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili stated at an emergency briefing at about 5 am on Sunday appealing the crowd in Batumi to calm down.

“Unfortunately, those forces

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