Amnesty: Georgia must probe "excessive force" against demonstrators

May 27, 2011, 10:27 GMT

Moscow/Tbilisi - The international human rights group Amnesty International urged Georgia on Friday to investigate official violence against anti-government protesters in the wake of a bloody street riot that killed two police officers.

Amnesty charged that, during a Thursday demonstration, Georgian police clubbed unarmed and non-violent demonstrators and fired rubber bullets and tear gas at bystanders and journalists.

'There must be a thorough investigation into these incidents, which must also examine the instructions issued to individual officers on the ground,' Amnesty said.

On Friday, Tbilisi police were holding about 90 people on a variety of charges in connection with the unrest, which resulted in the hospitalization of 37 people.

The most severe charges are against people thought to have been in a vehicle that ran over a group of police officers, killing two and injuring four others, according to news reports.

Most of the detainees will likely be convicted on public disorder charges and will be jailed for as much as two months. At least 20 people will have to pay fines equivalent to 475 dollars, said lawyer Tamar Kordsaya.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on Thursday the demonstrators were possibly financed by Russia and had aimed to destabilize the country.

Nino Burjandaze, leader of the Georgian opposition, said Saakashvili's decision to unleash riot police on peaceful demonstrators on Tbilisi's central Rustaveli street 'a crime against humanity.'

The European Union and Russia issued separate declarations Thursday accusing the Saakashvili regime of undermining freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.