Tbilisi Court of Appeal has reduced the sentence of those convicted of violence against journalists, which resulted in the death of Pirveli TV cameraman Lekso Lashkarava, to four years in prison.
The defendants – Akaki Nakashidze, David Kutaladze, Tornike Davlasheridze, Otar Gelashvili, Tsotne Chikhladze and Gia Giguashvili – were initially sentenced to five years.. The Court of Appeal found them guilty of gang violence, but not of organized violence.
On July 5, 2021, a gay pride parade was to be held in Tbilisi as part of Pride Week. The procession was scheduled for 18:00 from Rustaveli metro station in the city center. The Orthodox patriarchate announced a protest against the march, calling on supporters to take to the streets and protect the country from a “perverted way of life.”
On the morning of July 5, protest groups went to the parliament and destroyed opposition tents that had been standing there for months, then attacked the journalists who came to cover the story. In total, 53 journalists were injured by the protesters.
The clergy openly called on those present to commit violence “for the sake of the motherland.”
Witnesses believe the perpetrators’ actions were prompted by Prime Minister Garibashvili, who laid the responsibility for aggravation on those organizing the march, and not the protesters.
The march was cancelled, but the violence on Rustaveli Avenue continued for several more hours. According to journalists, not enough police officers were mobilized; the Minister of the Interior said that as many law enforcement officers were mobilized as “as much as possible.”
As journalists pointed out, the protesters purposefully attacked them. Some journalists required surgery and serious medical intervention.
