Thousands join Tbilisi rally in support of arrested rappers: A photo report
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A rally in support of the arrested ‘Birja Mafia’ duo was held outside the Georgian Parliament in Tbilisi.
Giorgi Keburia, 21, and Mikheil ‘Mishka’ Mgaloblishvili, 28, were arrested on 6 June for alleged procurement and possession of particularly large quantities of psychoactive narcotic substances. However, the arrestees claim that the drugs had been planted on them and the real reason behind their arrest was a music video in which they mocked the police. The video clip features a person wearing a police uniform, with a dog leash around his neck and a bone in his mouth.
A rally under the slogan ‘What else should happen?!’ started at 7 p.m. at Rustaveli metro station. The rally participants marched to the parliament building, protesting against the restriction of freedom of speech and the government’s stringent drug policy.
‘Stop the war on people’
‘Violent cop is a dog’
‘MoI should be leashed’
‘Dare decriminalization’
‘We will win this war’
‘Music is not a crime’
The rally participants were holding posters with the aforesaid slogans.
It was a mass rally, joined by thousands of people, mostly youth. The police had to block vehicle traffic on Rustaveli Avenue due to the large number of participants in the rally.
People were sheltering from heavy rain and hail under umbrellas and raincoats. Although it got dark, the outdoor lights weren’t turned on for quite a long time. So, the rally participants were standing in the darkness, with their mobile phone flashlights on. A photo of thousands of people holding mobile phones with their flashlights on turned out to be the most effective image of the day.