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TV crew attacked in Tbilisi near Georgian parliament

TV crew attacked in Tbilisi near Georgian parliament TV crew attacked in Tbilisi near Georgian parliament (illustrative photo: Getty Images)

The crew of the Pirveli TV channel was attacked near the parliament in Tbilisi. It happened in the evening of December 7, reports The Echo of Caucases.

According to the agency, journalist Maka Chikhladze and her cameraman were filming a group of people dressed in black, wearing balaclavas and no insignia on their clothes, attacking protesters in dark alleys.

However, after they were spotted, the group of people began to approach the film crew. Chikhladze asked them not to touch the camera, but a man in black approached the journalist from behind and threw her to the ground.

The footage of the attack was broadcast live. As a result of the attack on the journalists, the cameraman's head was smashed, and the journalist was physically injured.

In total, more than 56 journalists have been reported to have suffered varying degrees of injury during the protests in Tbilisi.

The protests in Tbilisi and across Georgia began after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the suspension of EU accession negotiations on the evening of November 28.

According to him, Tbilisi will postpone the issue of starting negotiations with the European Union until the end of 2028 and will join the EU by 2030.

Yesterday, on December 6, thousands of people again protested in the center of Tbilisi over the government's postponement of negotiations on Georgia's accession to the EU. For the first time in three days, the police special forces violently dispersed the protesters. Read more about the events in RBC-Ukraine's article.

We also reported that on December 5, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed sanctions against the Georgian authorities over the events in the country.