According to the information of the office of the ombudsman, the representatives of the public defender will visit the citizens arrested during the break-up of the rally on Melikishvili Avenue.

As stated in the statement issued by the Office of the Public Defender, by 08:00, when the Ministry of Internal Affairs started arresting the participants of the rally on Melikishvili avenue, the rally was peaceful and conformed to the standards of freedom of assembly.

"The Public Defender notes that at the time (08:18, 19.11.2024) when the Ministry of Internal Affairs started arresting the participants of the rally on Melikishvili Avenue, the rally was peaceful and met the standards of freedom of assembly. At that time, there may have been improper treatment of citizens by the police or cases of excessive force. According to reports, among those arrested is journalist Sergi Baramidze, who, as is known, was engaged in professional activities at the time of his arrest. The public defender emphatically notes that it is not allowed to interfere with a journalist's professional activities.

The Public Defender calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to ensure freedom of peaceful assembly of protestors, not to prevent journalists from carrying out their activities, and to strictly observe the criteria of necessity and proportionality when using detention measures and special means. In addition, the Public Defender calls on the Special Investigation Service to investigate each case with signs of a possible crime against journalists/demonstrators and to inform the public.

In addition, we inform the public that on November 16, 2024, the Office of the Public Defender also visited three citizens arrested in front of the CEC building. One of the detained citizens indicated that he was a victim of improper treatment by the police, and all three of them indicated unethical treatment and verbal abuse.

The Office of the Public Defender implemented the appropriate legal response in all three cases and referred to the Special Investigation Service and the General Inspection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Office of the Public Defender reminds the public that there is a hotline of the office - 1481, which works 24 hours a day, and citizens can contact us at any time regarding each fact of violation of rights", - it is mentioned in the released statement.