What happened 2 years ago in Tbilisi | Chronology of the bloody night

Two years since Gavrilov's bloody night - on June 20, 2019, the Dream government dispersed a peaceful, anti-occupation rally without warning. Citizens gathered on Rustaveli Avenue, animal bullets were fired and tear gas was shot at the protesters. They didn’t forget to use water cannons, either.

The protest action and public outrage followed the arrival of a Russian delegation to Georgia, a placing of Russian Communist MP Sergei Gavrilov in the chair of parliament, and the laying of a red carpet for him.

What happened 2 years ago in Tbilisi - let's follow chronologically:

A few days before June 20:

June 17 - Giorgi Kandelaki, a member of European Georgia, held a special briefing and announced that a Parliamentary Orthodox Assembly was planned to be held in Georgia. He also announced that several MPs of the Russian Duma were to arrive in the country.

June 19 - A reception was held at the Avlabari residence amid the rally.

In the photo: then Speaker of Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze and Russian Communist MP Sergei Gavrilov.
Why Sergey Gavrilov came to Georgia

Sergei Gavrilov, a member of the Russian Communist Party and a current member of the Russian Duma, arrived in Georgia within the framework of the Parliamentary Orthodox Assembly. He led the Russian delegation.

Why Sergey Gavrilov came to Georgia

Then the Georgian opposition spread information that during the war in Abkhazia, Gavrilov was fighting against Georgians. He’s also known by the fact that he recognizes the independence of Abkhazia and the so-called South Ossetia, which runs counter to internationally recognized borders within Georgia's sovereignty.

Why the rally started on June 20th

The fact that Sergei Gavrilov took the chair of the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia angered the members of the opposition so much that they entered the session hall of the Parliament and as a result of their vociferous activity, the ongoing event in the Parliament was stopped.

Thanks to the opposition MPs, Gavrilov could not take Irakli Kobakhidze's chair after the break. He was soon removed from the Parliament building and taken to the Radisson.

The first protest

It was at this time that the first protesters gathered on 9 April Street near the back entrance to Parliament. Shame, Go and Take Away Russian Troops - Banners with these inscriptions were held by activists.

After Gavrilov and his Russian MPs were transferred to the Radisson, some activists also moved to a hotel. The protest continued and yielded results - Gavrilov first left "Radisson" and then Georgia.

The opposition demanded the resignation of Irakli Kobakhidze, while the activists announced a large-scale rally in front of the parliament in the evening.

Large-scale rally in front of Parliament

Thousands of people gathered in front of the parliament building just minutes after the rally began. Citizens wanted to hear from the authorities the answer to the question, "Why did the MP of the occupying country sit in the chair of the chairman of the Parliament of Georgia."

Politicians gradually appeared on the specially arranged stage and some of them addressed the gathered public.

Citizens peacefully protested the visit of Gavrilov and the Russian delegation in front of the parliament, which was followed by the dispersal of the rally and the bloody events a little later.

Dispersal of the rally

Around 12 o'clock at night, the police started to disperse the rally carelessly. They used tear gas and rubber bullets meant for animals. The usage of gas at the rally was so sudden that part of the protesters dispersed in defense, however, within minutes, they moved back to Parliament.

Injured at the rally

A number of protesters and members of the media were injured in the dispersal of the peaceful demonstration. Among them is Tamar Baghashvili, journalist of the "Mtavari Channel".

Up to 30 media representatives were injured at the rally. Some of them had rubber bullets in their backs and necks.

Two citizens, Giorgi Sulashvili and Mako Gomuri, lost an eye from rubber bullets fired by the Special Forces.

Four other protesters lost their sight, including Koba Letodiani, who lost one eye during the Abkhaz war. According to official data, about 240 citizens received various bodily injuries during the bloody rally on June 20.

On the night of June 20-21, another confrontation took place as early as 4 p.m. While law enforcers tried to "clean" the avenue with a water cannon. Part of the citizens were not going to disperse, while the special forces chased them in the April 9 Garden and also fired rubber bullets.

Eventually, the ongoing events in front of Parliament calmed down after about 8-9 hours.

The reaction of “Dream”

Although the protesters demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Speaker of the Parliament, the ruling team only decided to dismiss Irakli Kobakhidze. On June 21, this information was announced to the public by Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze and not by Kobakhidze himself.

"Dream" MP Zakaria Kutsnashvili said that he was leaving the MP's mandate.

What was happening in the following days

After the events of June 20, the protest on Rustaveli Avenue did not stop. The movement "Shame" has been holding rallies in front of the parliament every day for several months. After that there were several more raids, water cannons and injured demonstrators ...

The government promised to fulfill one of the demands of the rallies after June 20 - to change the electoral system and hold elections in 2020 on a fully proportional model, but the "Dream" deputies blocked the package of changes, which was again followed by protests. pickets and rallies.

June 20 victims in Strasbourg court

People v. Government - Two lawsuits in the June 20 bloody night case have been accepted for consideration by the International Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Journalists and anti-occupation activists call on Strasbourg to expose the inhumane actions of the "dream" government.

Prohibition of torture, freedom of expression, right to a fair trial - these are the articles of the International Convention which, according to the applicants, were violated by the Georgian Dream authorities on Gavrilov's night.

The Ministry of Justice has already received questions from Strasbourg, after which the judges will discuss the case directly. How long the work will last on the suit is difficult to say, although the time in this case does not matter in principle.

Mtavari Channel journalist Tamar Baghashvili, along with more than a dozen journalists and dozens of other activists who were injured in the bloody night, has been waiting for two years to identify and punish the perpetrators ...

"No to the occupier amnesty" - even 2 years after the bloody events, the area around the parliament will be the epicenter of the protest. Civil activists are urging the Dream government from the street not to pass the amnesty law and not to allow the perpetrators to be released from responsibility.