During the anti-government protests in Tbilisi, due to the refusal of the pro-Russian Georgian authorities to continue negotiations on European integration, security forces beat and detained the famous athlete, the winner of the 2020 Olympics, Zurab Datunashvili.
Points of attention
- Zurab Datunashvili, a prominent athlete, was beaten and detained by security forces during protests in Tbilisi.
- The opposition in Georgia demands the release of political prisoners, new parliamentary elections, and political neutrality of law enforcement agencies.
- The government justifies mass arrests of opposition leaders as a measure against 'liberal fascism' in the country.
- The arrest of Zurab Datunashvili sheds light on the ongoing political crisis in Georgia and the tensions between the government and opposition groups.
- International commentary, including from the US Secretary of State, adds to the complexity of the situation in Georgia.
What is known about the arrest of Zurab Datunashvili in Tbilisi during the protests
It is noted that the 33-year-old athlete was detained by the police, who put him in a patrol car.
Момент затримання в Тбілісі дворазового чемпіона світу з боротьби Зураба Датунашвілі, який відкрито підтримує протести і бере участь в акціях.
— Сергій Погребецький (@pogrebeckij) December 4, 2024
32-річний Зураб Датунашвілі — триразовий чемпіон Європи, дворазовий чемпіон світу, бронзовий призер літніх Олімпійських ігор 2020 року. pic.twitter.com/lfie2V9z71
The video of the moment of the arrest shows that the athlete was most likely beaten before that.
It is known that Datunashvili suffered neck and upper body injuries when he arrived at the police station.
Zurab is a three-time European champion, two-time world champion and bronze medalist of the 2020 Olympic Games in freestyle wrestling.
Zurab represented the Georgian national team at the 2012 Olympics, and later he took sports citizenship of Serbia.
What is known about large-scale protests in Georgia
Four opposition political associations of Georgia, which overcame the passage barrier in the parliamentary elections, but do not recognize the legitimacy of the parliament, published a joint statement.
The oppositionists are directly addressing the founder and honorary chairman of "Georgian Dream" Bidzina Ivanishvili with demands, the fulfillment of which, in their opinion, is necessary to get out of the crisis in the country.
The opposition demands:
immediately release all political prisoners detained during the actions and stop all cases against them;
call for new parliamentary elections to be held by a new, independent electoral body, and ensure the political neutrality of law enforcement agencies.
The head of the government considers the mass roundups and arrests of opposition leaders and activists to be justified, claiming that in this way the authorities are eradicating "liberal fascism" from the country. Kobakhidze also called the statement of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken regarding the events in Georgia "misinformation".
