On July 31, the Astoria Grande cruise liner with Russian tourists entered the port of Batumi (Georgia) for the second time, which caused people to protest. Law enforcement officers detained some of the participants, including two Ukrainians.
This was reported by the head of the Adjara branch of the Association of Young Lawyers of Georgia, Tako Tsulukidze, to the Radio Liberty project, Echo of the Caucasus.
One of the detainees is 37-year-old Ukrainian Maryna Chobanyan. She is accused of violating Articles 166 and 173 of the Administrative Code of Georgia — petty hooliganism and disobedience to law enforcement officers. She is currently in the detention center of the city of Ozurgeti, as her lawyer Nino Iremadze said.
According to Chobanyan, she did not obstruct the actions of the police, but the police used physical force against her. According to her lawyer, the woman filmed the protest on video. The Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Batumi, Rostom Nakashidze, has not yet been able to see the detainee.
Another detained citizen of Ukraine is Dmytro Zakrevskyi. His whereabouts are unknown.
- The liner first arrived in Batumi on July 27, after which a demonstration took place in the Batumi port, and the ship left the city amid protests.
- On May 10, 2023, Putin signed a decree and canceled the visa regime for Georgian citizens from May 15, 2023, and also canceled the ban on air transportation from Russia to Georgia, which has been in effect since June 2019.