I can’t say whether [the arrest of 5 riot police officers] is enough, the relevant agencies should decide. I can say one thing, those police officers, riot police officers who participated in violence against people, of course, must be held accountable before the law, this is very important, - Public Defender Levan Ioseliani stated.

With this, he answered a journalist’s question whether it is enough to arrest only 5 riot police officers for the violence against protesters and journalists. Ioseliani explained that this process should continue.

"One thing I can say is that the police officers and special forces who participated in the violence should be held accountable. This was one of my main demands as the Public Defender in the report I sent to Parliament. I have always talked about this. It is not possible for so many people to be detained on one side and no one on the other to be responsible for the facts that occurred last year. I cannot say whether it is enough or not, the relevant agencies should find out. One thing I can say is that the police officers and special forces who participated in the violence against people should, of course, be held accountable before the law. This is very important. The fact that something like this happened, and it happened for the first time, and I cannot recall another case where there was a systemic approach to punishing the perpetrators, I welcome this. It is important that the process reaches its conclusion," Ioseliani said.

When asked by a journalist whether the Patriarchate might consider pardoning those detained during the protests, Ioseliani said that he favors a humane approach.

“My position on this is well known to the public. I am in favor of a humane approach and, of course, I am in favor of mitigating sentences, releasing people early, pardoning, and all mechanisms that help people leave prison early. Of course, I have the same attitude towards those people who are currently serving sentences,” Ioseliani said.

According to him, the new Patriarch has a great role in this.

"The role of the Patriarch is very great, very special. The legacy that Patriarch Ilia II left in this country, who was truly the Patriarch of all, the Patriarch of all strata of society, of all citizens of our country, I think is an important approach that the new Patriarch should continue and take into account," said Ioseliani.