The United States Embassy has also responded to the ongoing events in the country in writing, and in a published statement, Ambassador Dunnigan says that everyone must be held accountable for the "brutal and unjustified violence," and the detained demonstrators must be released "immediately."
“Those responsible for the brutal and unjustified violence, including against protesters, media representatives, and members of the opposition, must be held accountable. Those who exercised their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression must be immediately released,” the embassy statement said. It also noted that Ambassador Robin Dunigan met with the Public Defender, Levan Ioseliani, “to discuss the importance of his and his team’s work in protecting the rights of the Georgian people.”
Today, Ambassador Dunigan and European diplomats visited members of the TV Pirveli team. The journalists have shown great courage in keeping the public informed.
“At times like these, it is clear how important a free media is to a free society. We strongly condemn the brutal and unjustified attacks by the Georgian Dream on members of the media and citizens of Georgia in recent days,” the ambassador said in a statement. Robin Dunnigan added that, as Secretary of State Anthony Blinken noted, the United States is prepared to use a variety of tools, including sanctions, to ensure accountability for those who perpetrate violence and foster a violent environment.
On December 9, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, Pavel Herczynski, told journalists that the events that have taken place in Georgia over the past 12 days require the imposition of sanctions by the European Union.
Since November 28, the police have administratively detained 372 protest participants – 62 of whom were sentenced to administrative detention by the court, and more than 100 were fined. Other cases are still under consideration. In addition, the police have arrested more than 30 people under criminal law. They face several years in prison.
