Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers Association publishes a special statement regarding a rally that takes place at the JSC "Georgian Railway” and calls on the police to stop meddling in the right to peaceful assembly.

"Meddling in the right to assembly has become of a continuous character and participants of the rally are not still given possibility to express peaceful protest in the form they give preference. It should be noted that the tent was set up at the same place where the hunger strike is taking place. Mentioned area is not a passage for transport. Holding the rally by its participants at the selected place does not hinder the traffic and neither does it cause an obstruction/blockage of any of the buildings. Respectively, actions of the police, to not allow setting up the tent by participants of the rally at the place of assembly, is a demonstration of control over a peaceful assembly form, which violates the essence of the right to assembly guaranteed by both the Constitution of Georgia and the Law of Georgia on Assemblies and Demonstrations”, - the statement reads.

GYLA also urges the Department of General Inspection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to study actions of those policemen who took part in the restriction of the right to peaceful assembly and to respond accordingly.

Source:The website of the organization