Opposition rally participants arrested in Abkhazia

Arrests of participants in opposition rally in Abkhazia

In Abkhazia, five people have been arrested for participation in an opposition rally and clashes with government officials. This is the first such arrest in the modern history of the republic. The opposition accuses the authorities of selective justice – incumbent President Aslan Bzhania himself came to power as a result of mass rallies and the storming of government buildings.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Sukhum accuses Ramaz Jopua, Chyche Inapshba, Beslan Tsvizhba, Beslan Michelia and Aslan Tania, ordinary opposition activists, of “participating in mass riots and the use of violence against government officials that took place on December 21 last year near the complex of government buildings”.

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This was the rally of the united opposition, which took place on the Theater Square of Sukhum, only a hundred meters away from the complex of government buildings.

At the rally, the opposition voiced a long list of complaints against the current government, including the acute energy crisis that the republic is going through, the ineffective fight against the pandemic and the poor work of law enforcement agencies.

At dusk, the protesters moved to the presidential palace, which was guarded by mobilised police and special forces, and tried to besiege it. However, their attempt was unsuccessful. The confrontation after several local clashes resulted in an agreement between President Aslan Bzhania and opposition leader Adgur Ardzinba to end the opposition rally and start a constructive dialogue.

Despite the designated dialogue, the arrests began once again on January 8. Sources in law enforcement agencies say that the arrests will not be limited to the aforementioned individuals and, perhaps, this will affect some of the leaders of the current opposition.

Since the end of December, rumors have been actively circulating that charges for organizing the riots may be brought against the former mayor of Sukhum, Kan Kvarchia.

Several times, in the history of the independent existence of Abkhazia, an acute internal political crisis ended with the storming of the presidential palace. Two of them – in May 2014 and January 2019 – led to an early change of government. However, never before have these riots results into criminal cases, let alone arrests.

Now, in order to avoid unforeseen excesses, the law enforcement agencies of the republic have been transferred to a special mode of operation. The security of the buildings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service has been strengthened.

The united Abkhazian opposition is outraged by the arrests, and considers what is happening “an attempt to establish a totalitarian regime”.

“Our law enforcement system serves the interests of the authorities. There is no question of the law impartiality here. They are trying to accuse people of riots and an attempted coup d’etat. And today, January 9, is the second anniversary since the real coup d’état took place. And this is the height of cynicism”, says the oppositionist, MP Givi Kvarchia.

On January 9, 2020, supporters of the then opposition, led by the current President of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, stormed a complex of government buildings in Sukhum and forced President Raul Khajimba to resign.

“We declare that the selective, politically motivated justice is unacceptable, and we will not allow this. In matters of law, there can be no statute of limitations. What prevented the incumbent president and the security bloc from also considering the cases of the seizure of presidential buildings in 2020 and 2019, the storming of the Interior Ministry building in 2016? Now, the rule of law applies only to opponents of the authorities. What could be a worse violation of the state’s community than the division into friends and foes”, one of the opposition leaders, Akhra Bzhania, said at a press conference.

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