Georgian zoo vet denied bail in June 20 parliament raid case
Tbilisi City Court has denied bail to Georgian zoo vet Bejan Lortkipanidze, who was arrested on June 25 for alleged participation in the attempt to storm parliament on June 20-21, which the General Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has qualified as an attempt to overthrow the government.
From July 6 to July 25, a total of 19 activists have been detained and accused of violence during the protests of June 20-21.
Bejan Lortkipanidze is the head of the conservation program at the Nekresi species conservation center.
The prosecutor’s office asked Lortkipanidze be denied bail given that he “goes abroad often and can hide there.”
The 44-year-old vet and researcher is well-known in Georgia for his actions during the devastating flood of Tbilisi on June 13, 2015, when he saved the life of the hippopotamus Begi by calming the animal and giving it a sedative.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs says Lortkipanidze “was distinguished in his aggression against police officers, verbally insulted and physically attacked them and tried to break through the police cordon with violence.”
A petition has been created in support of Lortkipanidze, in which a thousand people have expressed support for the researcher with their signatures and asked the court not to deny him bail.
What happened in Tbilisi on June 20-21
Thousands of people gathered in protest in Tbilisi on June 20 after the Russian communist MP Sergei Gavrilov spoke in the Georgian parliament, sitting in the chair of the speaker.
Gavrilov was participating part in the session of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, which was being held in the hall of parliament. The opposition and public gathered for a large-scale rally, where they demanded an explanation from the Georgian authorities as to why the Russian MP, who does not recognize the territorial integrity of Georgia, was allowed to speak from the chair of the parliamentary speaker.
Several opposition politicians called on protesters to enter the parliament building. A clash with police later broke out, after which special forces used tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters.
