After two days of demonstrations, protesters in Georgia forced out the Russian cruise ship Astoria Grande, which had been docked at a Black Sea port in the southwest of the country. Police responded by using force on protesters, who cited their disapproval of the cruise ship’s passengers’ views on Russian policies in Ukraine and Georgia. According to our Observer, the clashes highlight a disparity between the Georgian government and the population’s stance on Russia.
The Russian cruise ship Astoria Grande stopped at Georgia’s Batumi port on the Black Sea for the first time on July 26. Hundreds of Georgians met it with anti-Russian signs, determined to stop the 800 tourists aboard from disembarking.
Protesters were even more incensed to learn that Russian television personalities who spoke in support of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine were among the tourists on board.
When they were interviewed by Georgian media on their arrival, some passengers declared that the 2008 Russian war against Georgia "liberated" Abkhazia, an autonomous republic and state recognised by only seven countries in the world, that is a breakaway region bordering Russia considered occupied territory by Georgian law. These statements, as well as deliberate provocations, rallied more people against the cruise ship.
The ship left port early on July 27, but returned on July 31 only to be met once again by demonstrators. The protesters threw eggs and plastic bottles at the minibuses taking Russian tourists on the ship.
The cruise operator told Russian media RBC that Batumi was no longer a destination for the Astoria Grande.
‘We won this battle. But the struggle continues’
Tazo Makharadze is the cofounder of the association Dafion, a pro-European youth movement. He launched the call for protest against the cruise ship on both days.
The gathering of people in Batumi started when the Russian cruise arrived in Batumi and the "guests" on the cruise insulted our territorial integrity and said that Abkhazia and Samachablo were not Georgian.
Soon after, I posted an appeal calling on people to come out and protest this disparity. Other organisations were involved besides us. And most importantly, completely nonpartisan people took part in this protest, and this means that these sentiments are present in the people.
The protests were mostly self-organised, because this is the mood of the people right now and they don't want Russia. More than 20 percent of our country is occupied by Russia. Despite this, our government pursues a pro-Russian policy. That's why Georgian youths often have to stand on the street and protest these disparities.
We won this battle and drove out the occupiers ahead of time. But the struggle continues.
Irakli Kobakhidze, chairman of "Georgian Dream", the majority party in the Georgian parliament, publicly condemned the protests on August 1.
"Hypocrisy and the double standard of pseudo-anti-Russians clearly indicate that all political provocations, including the rally held yesterday in Batumi, are dictated only by anti-state political goals and external influence,” Kobakhidze said.
He added that cruise ships provide tourist revenues to the country.
‘The participants of the rally did not comply with their legal demands’
The police intervened to provide safe passage to tourists and used violence against protesters, according to eyewitnesses. At least 23 people were detained on July 31. Among them are well-known activists and a local leader of the opposition party Droa.
The Georgian ministry of interior released a statement about the protests in Batumi on July 31:
"Despite numerous calls by law enforcement officers at the port of Batumi, the participants of the rally did not comply with their legal demands [...]. We call on the participants of the rally not to go beyond the limits of the freedom of assembly and expression allowed by law."
The police did not make any further official declarations following the departing of the cruise ship. Our team tried to contact the Georgian police and the regional police section in Batumi for a comment, but did not receive a response.
‘There was no reason for violence. People were arrested because of fear’
Tazo Makharadze told us that the police violence was exaggerated.
The police intervened when we did not allow the Russian tourists to get off the cruise. They physically assaulted the protesters. There was a case when a fallen person was kicked in the leg. There was no reason for violence.
Multiple legal associations declared that pre-trial detention was used in an abusive way. Some detainees stated that the police were physically violent even after they were arrested. One Ukrainian protester that was arrested had to be transferred to the hospital because of her injuries.
‘Police violated protesters' rights to freedom of expression’
While arrested protesters have the right to see their lawyer right away, information about the identity of the detained as well as on the location of their detention was released only in the late evening of July 31, according to a press statement by the Association of Young Lawyers of Georgia (GYLA).
The FRANCE 24 Observers team spoke to a representative from Union Sapari, one of the volunteer legal associations that is striving to prove that protesters were illegally detained.
The police arrested the protesters under traditional articles, which they always use in similar cases: petty hooliganism and disobedience to the request of the policeman.
Police violated protesters' rights to freedom of expression. The three people we are representing have been detained already for 48 hours and several of them are injured. We are collecting the video archives of the detention and disputing the detention in the court as illegal.
Several police officers are under investigation for engaging in abusive behaviour, as stated by the Georgian Special Investigative Service on August 1.
As of August 3, 15 protesters have been released on bail. At least eight protesters remain in detention, where they have been held for longer than 48 hours – the maximum term of pre-trial detention under Georgian law.
