Priest Basil is Detained

Priest Basil is Detained

Today, a special group of Interior Ministry troops carried out an operation  which resulted in Basil Mkalavishvili being detained at a church in Gldani.

Mkalavishvili, who is accused of damaging property belonging to Jehovah’s Witness, and dispersal of their meetings, is now in the 5th jail, and about 10 of his supporters have been taken to pre-trial isolators. Several parisioners (mostly women) attempting to defend Mkalashvili, who was cowering inside the church, were injured by riot police.

The Interior Minister addressed the issue, and said that saying that the protestors who were injured had violently attacked the police, who were defending themselves from an onslaught of rocks, wooden sticks, and firebombs.

Human Rights Information and Documentation Center condemns the violation of human rights by the police.