TSAAVA AND KMUZOV v. GEORGIA

Communicated on 20 October 2020Published on 9 November 2020 FIFTH SECTIONApplication no. 13186/20Merab TSAAVA and Beslan KMUZOVagainst Georgialodged on 29 February 2020SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASEThe application concerns the dispersal of a public demonstration held in Tbilisi in front of the Parliament of Georgia on 20-21 June 2019. Initially peaceful, it escalated into violent clashes between police and protesters. Tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons were used against the protesters, including allegedly from a short distance, as a result of which many were injured. Both applicants were journalists who were reporting the events. They allege that they were specifically targeted by the police with rubber bullets during the dispersal of the demonstration. The second applicant claims that he was hit by at least six rubber bullets. As a result he sustained a head injury which required s …