Georgian poet Zviad Ratiani, accused of assaulting a police officer, appeared in court this week, denying the charges and describing his actions as “the least painful, symbolic act with historical significance.”
Ratiani’s specific charge is hitting police officer Teimuraz Meshvelashvili in the face. The prosecution argues that the incident constitutes assault on a police officer under Article 353, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Georgia which carries a potential sentence of 4 to 7 years in prison.
During the hearing, Ratiani addressed both the court and the prosecution, stating, “I agree with my lawyers; I don’t think it requires much explanation as to what I did and why I did it. I will use the rest for my closing statement. I do not consider myself guilty of the charges brought against me… It was the least painful or minimally painful symbolic act, generalized, symbolic, with its historical significance. Every police officer involved in this injustice and betrayal of the country should take it personally… It was a slap to everyone, starting with Bidzina Ivanishvili.”
He also criticized prosecutor Giorgi Gogaladze, saying, “From these absurd texts, the only meaning I derived was the word ‘personality… You don’t even know the basic meaning of the word ‘valid.’ It’s clear what path you’ve chosen in life but you need to work a bit harder.”
Ratiani added that part of his inspiration came from past cases of alleged police violence, mentioning, “One of my main inspirations was the cases of Mzia Amaglobeli and Nino Datashvili, the violence that happened to them, this slap will turn into a very big slap from society, from the people.”
The court is scheduled to hold a substantive hearing on Ratiani’s case on August 27. The poet was detained on June 23 following the alleged incident.
