According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, neither the Law of Georgia "On the Police" nor any valid legal act issued on the basis of it prohibits the use of water jet and tear gas at the same time or in a parallel mode.

With this, the Ministry responded to the information spread by one of the media outlets, which was related to the fact that the Ministry of Internal Affairs used special means in violation of the law during the protests held in connection with the adoption of the "Transparency of Foreign Influence" law this year.

According to the Ministry, "false information spread in the media is aimed at misleading the public and deliberately discrediting the Ministry of Internal Affairs".

"Due to high public interest, we would like to respond to the information spread by one of the media outlets, which was related to the fact of illegal use of special means by the Ministry of Internal Affairs during the protests held this year in connection with the adoption of the law on "Transparency of Foreign Influence".

In order to inform the public, we would like to clarify that the information broadcast by the mentioned TV company in the story, as if the Ministry violated the "Police" law while using water cannon and tear gas at the same time, is a lie and an attempt to deliberately mislead the citizens.

The Law of Georgia "On the Police" clearly defines the rules for the use of special means by the police, according to Article 33, Paragraph 3, "the use of tear gas is allowed to repel an attack on a person, a police officer and/or a protected object, to prevent a mass and group violation of law and order." And the "water cannon" vehicle is used to prevent a mass violation of law and order, to repulse a group attack on a state and/or public object.

The type of special means used by the police and its intensity are determined according to the specific situation in accordance with the law.We emphasize that neither the Law of Georgia "On Police" nor any valid legal act issued on the basis of it prohibits the use of water jets and tear gas at the same time or in a parallel mode.

Moreover, the recommendations of such authoritative international organizations as OSCE/ODIHR and "Amnesty International" guidance documents do not provide for such prohibition.

According to Amnesty International's guidance document, it is permissible to mix marker paint and/or chemicals into the water cannon, and according to the OSCE/ODIHR guidelines, it is permissible to add tear gas to the water cannon and use them against persons involved in violent actions. According to the same document, the sole purpose of using tear gas should be to break up the assembly and it should not be used in a place where people will not have the opportunity to leave the place.

We note once again that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, while managing violent gatherings and demonstrations, uses special means that are in full compliance with European standards and are actively used by the police units of a number of European countries.

Spreading false information is aimed at misleading the public and deliberately discrediting the Ministry of Internal Affairs," the statement said.