The photojournalist of Aprili Media, Vakho Kareli, who was covering the women’s protest march from the Central Election Commission, was prevented from his journalistic activities by the police and forcibly removed from the road.
According to Vakho Kareli, he repeatedly informed the policeman that he was a representative of the media, to which the law enforcement officer replied: “Well, if you are a journalist, you shouldn’t be insolent.”
As the photojournalist recalls, he asked the law enforcement officer to explain why he was taking him from the blocked street, to which he did not receive an answer.
“The road was blocked and I was standing in the corner, near the car, like other media representatives. One of the police officers, probably the decision maker on the spot, Lasha Salukvadze, for some reason decided that the media should not work, and prevented us. When asked why I had to cross the blocked street, whom or what I was obstructing, he did not answer and tried to take me by force,” says Vakho Kareli.
He has already applied to the Special Investigation Service.
Today, on November 13, a women’s rally was held near the Central Election Commission. They demanded to enter the CEC building to file individual complaints, but the police stationed on the spot did not allow them to do so at first. In the end, the participants of the protest were still able to file statements.
After the rally, a women’s protest march was held from the CEC building to the Aghmashenebeli monument. The police did not allow the participants of the march to move to the vehicle part of the highway and block the road, due to which the situation on the spot became tense several times.